The second annual report of the North Wales Mental Hospital Management Committee for the period 1st January - 31st December, 1950.

  • North Wales Mental Hospital Management Committee
Date:
[1951?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The second annual report of the North Wales Mental Hospital Management Committee for the period 1st January - 31st December, 1950. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/60 page 21
    (5) Treatment of General Paralysis of the Insane.— The following methods are in use:— (a) Inoculation with Malaria. (b) Penicillin. (c) Specific antisyphylitic drugs. The folio wing table shows the number treated by various physi¬ cal methods during 1950:— Male F emale Total Electric Convulsive Therapy . 211 ... .... 275 . 486 Curare Modified E.C.T. 18 ... 7 . 25 Deep Insulin 14 ... 16 . 30 Modified Insulin 100 .... 65 . 165 Continuous Narcosis . 6 ... 3 9 Narco-analysis 146 ... ... 20 . 166 Ether abreactions 7 ... — 7 Alcohol aversion treatment 12 ... — .. 12 Prefrontal Leucotomy...... Endocrine Therapy (in cases n ( 5 . 12 of sex offence) 3 — 3 Leucotomy Cases.—The following is an analysis of the results all cases operated upon between April, 1942 and December, 1950. Male Female Total Total number of cases. 91 .... 60 . 151 Discharged “Recovered” or . 48 ... ... 30 . 78 “Improved” (53%) (50%) (52%) Improved in Hospital. 23 ... ... 12 . 35 Unchanged 17 .... 10 . 27 Worse . —• 1 1 Died (1) as result of operation 2 .... 2 4 (2) operation a contribu- tory factor 1 .... 4 5 (3) not as result of oper- at ion — 1 1 Of those discharged, subse- quently re-admitted 13 ... ... 11 . 24 Commentary.—As Leucotomy is only performed on cases which have not responded to other forms of treatment and in which the outlook without operation is regarded as hopeless, the results shown in the above table are regarded as satisfactory. However, it is realised that they are inadequate insofar as they give no information as to the mental status of those patients who have been discharged. It is therefore proposed that during the coming year to have each dis¬ charged patient visited by a social worker with a view to estimating his or her capacity to fit into society.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3