Pneumococcic pneumonia is highly variable in causation, pathologic aspects, course and outcome. A clear knowledge of the range and significance of its variations is requisite to an adequate concept of the disease, to intelligent management of the patient and to any interpretation of the results of treatment. In this and the two succeeding papers are published the results of a study of the records of 1,469 patients with pneumococcic pneumonia. This paper is concerned with the development, course and outcome of the disease caused by the various types of pneumococci, with the complications of pneumonia and with alterations in the outcome attending certain variations in the patient and in the course of the disease. The second paper will deal with the character of the disease in the presence of associated or concomitant conditions and the third with the results of serum therapy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
During the five year period