Finding the Cause
The exact cause of the inflammation can be determined only by a laboratory examination of specimens of sputum or blood. Fortunately, in most sections of the country, diagnostic services are now readily available.
The kind of germ is determined earliest by examining specimens of sputum.[B] Though the patient may have some difficulty in raising sputum, enough for laboratory needs can almost always be obtained if its importance is explained to him. The expectorated material should come from the lungs, and should be as free as possible from mixture with saliva and nasal secretions. The sputum can be collected in any clean, wide-mouthed bottle, or a cardboard sputum box, and sent without delay to the nearest laboratory. Within a short time a report is returned to your doctor advising him of the findings of the examination. If pneumococci have been found, the special type will be named.
[B] Blood specimens are also of importance in diagnosis of the disease and determining the course of treatment.
Laboratories are now equipped to make prompt and reliable examinations of sputum specimens.