Rheumatoid arthritis, and its treatment / by Arthur P. Luff.

  • Luff, Arthur Pearson, 1855-1938.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Rheumatoid arthritis, and its treatment / by Arthur P. Luff. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    13/14 page 11
    the production of many deformities. At 20 years of age she was attacked with severe rheumatoid arthritis involving all the finger and thumb joints, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, cervical vertebral, and temporo-maxillary joints. She was treated for three years with arsenic and iron, but the joints gradually got worse. When I first saw her, at the age of 25 years, there was considerable deformity and grating in many of the joints, and the fingers were bent in various directions. All the joints were very painful, and she could only walk with difficulty. Her weight was only 4 stone, 12 pounds. She was placed for twelve months on the guaiacol carbonate and iodide of potassium treatment, and a generous dietary was ordered. At the end of that time the walking was very much improved, there was very little pain in the joints, and she was able to play the piano, on account of the absence of pain from the finger joints. The deformities of the joints and the grating remained the same. For two years she continued in this quiescent condition, and at the end of that time she had a slight relapse of the rheumatoid arthritis. She was at once placed for eight months on the guaiacol carbonate and iodide of potassium treatment. She has now been for nearly a year free from pain, and, although the deformities naturally remain the same as before, she is able to take a fair amount of exercise, and to generally enjoy life. Her weight has increased to 7 stone, 4 pounds. This case illustrates the improvement that may be effected even in long standing cases of very severe rheumatoid arthritis.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3