Abstract

A quantitative study was carried out of the number of lymphoreticular aggregates in standard sections of the lungs of 316 children. Of these, 128 showed no recognizable lung disease, 104 of whom presented as sudden unexpected death. The number of lymphoreticular aggregates was higher in the unexpected than in the expected child deaths.

As lymphoreticular aggregates are nonspecific indicators of previous antigenic stimulation, it follows that many of the children in the unexpected death group had been subject to a greater amount of such stimulation.