THE SERUM ANTISTREPTOLYSIN TITER IN ACUTE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

Abstract

This work on the level of an'tistreptolysin titer in the serum of patients with acute glomerulone- phritis is part of a study being conducted by the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics on the role of infection in acute and chronic glomerulo- nephritis. The literature and texts list the most heterogeneous types of infection (influenza, diphtheria, measles, the common cold, sore throat, ex- posure, osteomyelitis, "pregnancy," intestinal ca- tarrh, pyodermia, etc.), as the prodromal episode in acute glomerulonephritis. For this reason and because at the time the patients are first observed (at the onset of the nephritis) the clinical and bacteriological evidence of the preceding infection may be inadequate, it seemed desirable to obtain more specific evidence on the character of the infection which precedes the nephritis. A pre- liminary study (1) in 1933 showed that of 22 patients with acute glomerulonephritis the sera of 20 had a definite increase in antistreptolysin titer. The present report is a more complete study of this antibody in a larger group of pa- tients observed over a period of four years.