Clinical and epidemiological correlates of Pseudomonas typing.

Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center over a three-year period have been studied by three laboratory assays: serotyping, antibiotic sensitivity, and pyocin typing. Serotyping with use of rabbit antisera to the seven immunotype strains of Fisher has proved to be a simple, rapid method for differentiation of strains. When this was combined with a quantitative test of sensitivity to gentamicin, it was possible to analyze a number of clinical and epidemiological problems. Although pyocin typing was more cumbersome and gave somewhat variable results, it yielded correlative information in certain cases.