1973 Volume 64 Issue 5 Pages 402-407
It is well known that the most common causee of urinary tract infection is Escherichia coli. Since 1943, serological classification of E. coli dependent upon O and K antigens has been established by Kauffman and some other workers. It has been demonstrated in intestinal infection that there were some specific relationships between serological character of E. coli and its pathogenicity. However, little is known about serological characteristics of E. coli in urinary tract infection. The purpose of the present study is to investigate on the relationships between serological types of E. coli isolated from urine and therapeutic results in urinary tract infection.
E. coli isolated from the urine of 124 cases with uncomplicated infection of the urinary tract were classified into four types, serotype 0, I, II and III, according to the results of agglutination reaction for three kinds of multiple rabbit antiserum for pathogenic E. coli prepared at the Kitazato laboratory (Table 1). Relationships between these serotypes of isolated E. coli and clinical results of chemotherapy according to the authors' criteria were also observed.
The results obtained were as follows.
1) The most frequent type of E. coli which was seen in 71 of 124 cases (57.2%) was serotype 0, which showed no positive reaction to all of three kinds of antiserum. Serotype I which showed positive reaction to antiserum I was seen in 43 cases (34.7%). Serotype II reacting to antiserum II was seen in only 2 cases (1.7%) and Serotype III reacting to antiserum III was seen in the remaining 8 cases (6.6%).
2) Agglutination test by single antiserums revealed that 42 of 43 strains of serotype 0 were O86aK62 and the other one was O86aK61, both 2 of serotype II were O119K69, and of 8 serotype III strains, 4 were O28acK73, 2 were O44K74 and the other 2 were O125K70.
3) Of 71 cases with serotype 0 E. coli, 59 (83.1%) were cured by chemotherapy. In the cases with serotype I, 28 of 43 cases (65.1%) were cured. Both of 2 cases with serotype II were not cured and 7 of 8 cases with serotype III were cured.
4) The results suggest that some pathogenic E. coli in the intestinal tract may be the cause of urinary tract infection.
