Infantile ophthalmia (blennorrhoea neonatorum) and its prevention : read in the Section of Ophthalmology at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, held in Leeds, August, 1889 / by Karl Grossmann.

  • Grossmann, Karl.
Date:
[1889]
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Credit: Infantile ophthalmia (blennorrhoea neonatorum) and its prevention : read in the Section of Ophthalmology at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, held in Leeds, August, 1889 / by Karl Grossmann. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    i 37 fl 12.9 ff 29 ff 9.1 f» 30 f> 8.3 )f 35 ff 9.8 ff 36 ff 9.2 » 14 tf 7.6 ff eight years ago, before one of the Branch meetings of this Asso- ciation I first drew attention to this method which, slightly modi- fied at present, consists in the following: As soon as the umbilical cord is attended to the child is washed, and the closed eyes wiped with a clean rag or pad of cotton wool. The eyes are then opened, and one drop of a 2 per cent, solution of nitrate of silver is dropped into each eye by means of a rounded glass rod. I will give here a compilation of the results as published by Cred6 in 1887: Before using any prophylactic treatment. 1874 ... 323births, ofwr 1875 ... 287 „ 1876 ... 367 „ 1877 ... 360 „ 1878 ... 353 „ 1879 ... 389 „ „ 1880 (Jan. to June) 187 „ „ After introduction of prophylactic treatment. 1880 (June to Dec.) 200 births, of which 1 blenn. = 0.5 „ The percentage was reduced from 13.6 to 0.5 (or more correctly speaking to 0.0, because it was found that in that one case the prophylactic treatment had been omitted by mistake.) Thus the great value of Cr6d6's method has been fully established. The only objection which has been made against it is that the 2 per cent, solution of nitrate of silver is perhaps rather strong— too strong to put into the healthy eye of the infant. Against this it may be said that weaker solutions seem to do equally well down to 0.5 per cent., and that weak solutions of sublimate (0.03 per cent.) and other antiseptics have been used with the best success. If any irritation takes place it is only the case in premature children, and has, as far as I could convince myself, never been followed by any serious results. The prophylactic method of Haussmann is free from this drawback. He lays great stress on the disinfection of the ma- ternal mucous membranes, and on all the instruments used during birth. It goes without saying that he also advocates a careful cleaning of the face and eyelids of the newborn, but he stops short of the instillations into the conjunctival sac. Still, from the comparison of the two methods, that of Cr6&6 seems to de- serve our complete support. Koenigstein tried both in the Vienna clinic on a Inrge scale, and found the following result: ot 1,300 children treated by Cr6d6's method, 0.5 per cent, were affected, while the method of Haussmann showed 2 per cent, in a series of 1,541 cases of birth. I give here some statistics gathered in some of the large Conti- nental obstetrical institutions since the introduction of the pro- phylactic treatment. Cr6d.6 himself publishes for 1880, out of 211 cases, 1 case of blenorrhcea 1881 „ 400 „ 1 1882 „ 418 „ 2 1883 „ 131 „ 0 The Berlin Charity, which used to have from 13 to 9 per cent, between the years 1876 and 1880, came down in 1883 (first batch), out of 460 cases, 7=1.5 per cent.; (second batch), out of 260 cases, 0=0.0 per cent. Bonn, 1883, out of 703 cases, 4=0.5 per cent. Dresden, 1887 (first batch), out of 1,000 cases, 4=0.4 per cent.; (second batch), out of 420 cases, 0=0.0 per cent. Giessen, 1885 to .1887, out of 330 cases, 0=0.0 per cent. Marburg, 1884 to 1888, out