Abstract
Systematic culturing of perioperative intra-abdominal samples allowed us to recognize the presence of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
in infectious complications of chronic pancreatitis in 9 male patients.
In 8 of 10 of the intra- or peripancreatic samples,
S. pneumoniae
was the single isolate identified. All but one of the
S. pneumoniae
isolates were sensitive to penicillin. The patients had
predisposing underlying conditions such as alcoholism and diabetes mellitus. All patients were cured due to adequate surgery and antibiotic treatment. Analysis of the case histories suggests that
S.
pneumoniae
may have been a relevant organism causing the infectious complications of pancreatitis in these patients.