Scheme for the treatment & prevention of tuberculosis / Sidney Barwise, County Medical Officer.

  • Derbyshire (England). County Council
Date:
1916
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Scheme for the treatment & prevention of tuberculosis / Sidney Barwise, County Medical Officer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    7/20 (page 5)
    As a guiding rule, however, a patient should stay at*least ti month for educational purposes whether curable or otherwise. Towards the end of this period the cases can usually be divided up as follows : — 1. Oases in which cure or at least arrest and return to work can be expected within six months. This class should stay at least three months, the home conditions determining whether a longer stay is advisable. 2. Cases in which, while no cure or complete arrest can be expected, there is a reasonable prospect of their return to light work within six months. This is the most difficult class to deal with, and sometimes leads to disappointment, a temporary improvement during the first month or two raising hopes which subsequently are lost. % 3. Cases in which no more than temporary benefit can be expected, but which, from their highly infectious nature, it is most desirable to educate. For these one month's stay is sufficient, especially if a shelter can be provided for them when they return home. Of the 205 cases referred to (excluding two re-admissions) the average length of stay was 65 days. The following table gives tlie number of patients who stayed one, two or three months: — Less than one month ... ... ... 20 One month ... ... ... ... 27 Two months ... ... ... ... 34 Three months ... ... ... ... 96 Over three months ... ... ... 28 The longest stay ... ... ... 165 days. Results.—-These of necessity when reduced to figures are liable to be misleading, because of the difficulty in standardising the class of case admitted. An attempt, shown below, to do this, proves how much the results depend upon cases being admitted in the earlier stages. PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. A separate classification of the results has been made to show : (1) General improvement in patient (as a whole); (2) Local improvement, i.e., in the lungs, as shown by physical examination, sputum, etc. Completed Much Improved. Station- Worse. Dead. Total. Treatment Improved. ary. General 171 121 36 7 5 9 171 Local ... 171 80 44 32 13 2 171