A Supplementary Report on the Importance of Clostridium Welchii as an Etiologic Factor in the Toxemia of Spreading Peritonitis Following Acute Perforative Appendicitis

Of the 20 dogs which were immunized and operated on as described, 13 lived and 7 died, a mortality of 35 per cent. This mortality may be compared with a control mortality previously established in earlier investigations, of over 91 per cent. The complete details are shown in table 2. While our series of animals is not so large as could be desired, yet the marked drop in mortality in this group as compared with the control group leads one to believe that the toxemia accompanying spreading peritonitis may be largely produced by the toxin of Clostridium welchii.