Influence of Specific Serum Therapy on Plasma Lipids in Pneumonia. ∗

Abstract

The author has thoroughly studied the changes which occur in the plasma lipids during acute infections in children. The investigations have included pneumonia. 1 , 2 The patients did not receive any specific treatment during the febrile period of the disease. It has been observed that there is a definite lowering of the values for total cholesterol, total fatty acids, and phospholipids during the height of the infection as compared with the levels during convalescence. The drop in the total cholesterol is due to a marked fall in the ester cholesterol content of the blood. The low total fatty acid values are accompanied by a definite reduction in the iodine absorption values resulting in a low iodine number for the serum fatty acids. The decrease in the phos-pholipid content of the serum is accompanied by a rise in the iodine absorption values for the phospholipid fatty acids. This rise is, however, quickly followed by a marked fall so that toward the end of the height of the illness very low iodine numbers are obtained for the fatty acids of the phospholipids.

The lipids have been closely followed during the convalescent period. It has been noted that the cholesterol values rise first to normal and in some instances go above the normal range for a short period of time. The total fatty acids increase slowly during the first phase and more rapidly to normal during the last part of convalescence. The phospholipids with the low iodine number of their fatty acids rise very slowly and do not reach the normal range until the patient has fully recovered and there is no residual infection.

These observations in untreated patients during the natural course of the pneumonia prompted an investigation of the influence of serum therapy on the lipid changes.