Eaton Agent Pneumonia— Clinical Features
- Lieut. Maurice A. Mufson;
- Lieut. Michael A. Manko, MC;
- Capt. James R. Kingston, MC;
- Robert M. Chanock, M.D.
- U.S.N.R.; U.S.N.; Bethesda, Md.
- Naval Medical Field Research Laboratory, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Lieut. Mufson); United States Naval Hospital, Beaufort, S.C. (Lieut. Manko); Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C. (Capt. Kingston); and Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (Dr. Chanock). Dr. Mufson is now at the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, also.
Abstract
The clinical features of Eaton agent pneumonia, adenovirus pneumonia, and a group of etiologically undiagnosed viral pneumonias were compared. Eaton agent pneumonia was found to be an acute febrile illness characterized by cough, fever, chills, headache, and malaise. The duration of illness in untreated patients averaged between 2 and 3 weeks. Clinical findings in the other viral pneumonias were milder with less systemic symptoms, less pulmonary involvement, and shorter duration. It was not possible to distinguish Eaton agent pneumonia from the other types on the basis of clinical findings alone, without recourse to the fluorescent antibody test. However, the development of cold agglutinins suggested a diagnosis of Eaton agent pneumonia since they appeared in 49 of 109 patients with this illness, but were infrequently found in other viral pneumonias.
Footnotes
-
This is the third in a series of articles on Eaton agent pneumonia.
-
The opinions and assertions contained herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Navy Department or the Naval Servic at large.
