The Role of Hemophilus Influenzae in Respiratory Infections of Premature Infants

We have recently had an outbreak of respiratory infection in our premature nursery in which we believe that H. influenzae may have had some part as an etiologic agent. The following report is an account of the clinical and bacteriological findings during this outbreak.

Clinical Observations  Three infants were discharged from our premature nursery in good condition on the same day. Their course in the nursery had been uneventful. Four, six, and ten days, respectively, after discharge from the nursery these infants developed signs of respiratory infection. The symptoms rapidly progressed to include marked respiratory distress, with severe paroxysms of coughing and periods of apnea; so all three infants were admitted to the isolation ward of the hospital with a provisional diagnosis of pertussis. These three infants constitute Patients 1, 2, and 3 in this series.At approximately the same time that these three infants were readmitted to the hospital