Pneumonia in Children Following Aspiration of Oil and Fat

In view of the relatively few communications on pneumonia in children following the aspiration of oil or fat, it seems desirable to report twot cases of this kind which were observed on the Pediatric Service of the New Haven Hospital. Pinkerton"'2 reviewed the literature on this subject and reported six cases from the Children's Hospital in Boston. All of these patients died of pneumonia following the accidental entrance of oily material into the lungs. He also studied the lesions produced experimentally in animals by intratracheal injections of various oils of animal, vegetable or mineral origin, and found that the resulting lesions varied with the type of oil used. The animal and mineral oils called forth a marked proliferative response on the part of the tissue, whereas practically no response resulted from the intratracheal injection of vegetable oils.