The Response of Rheumatic and Non-rheumatic Children to Streptolysin O Concentrate
This report concerns the response of 20 children who had inactive rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease to a streptococcal antigen, streptobysin O concentrate. Antistreptolysin O titers were measured before and 3 weeks after a single intramuscular injection of antigen in a dosage arbitrarily graded according to age. Two control groups were used: 55 children, and 45 children, who had no past or present evidence of rheumatic disease, were given an equivalent injection of antigen, and no antigen, respectively. The results indicate that as a group, the children with rheumatic disease responded with higher titers of antistreptolysin O than did the non-rheumatic children. They also had more severe local reactions. However, only 5 of the 20 children responded with large rises in titer; therefore, the results although suggestive are not conclusive. The author suggests that the individual's past experience with the hemolytic streptococcus, with respect to time and number of infections, may greatly influence the response to a given quantity of antigen. No significant rise in antistreptokinase or antistreptolysin titers was demonstrated in the two groups given antigen, indicating that nonspecific antibody responses did not occur following administration of streptolysin O concentrate.
