London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Wandsworth 1902
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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83
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Cases of Mistaken Diagnosis.
During the year information was received from the Metropolitan
Asylums Board that the patient removed to hospital was
not suffering from the disease notified or any other notifiable
disease in 41 cases, exclusive of the cases of Small-pox, which have
been separately dealt with.
Of the cases treated at home no information was available
whether the diagnosis was correct or not.
In all, 1,448 cases of Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever, and Enteric
Fever were removed to Hospital, thus giving a percentage of
2'8 in which the diagnosis was wrong.
The following Table shows the number of cases in each
parish, as well as the percentage in each of the three diseases.
| Disease. | No. of cases of mistaken diagnosis | Total. | Total cases removed | Percentage of errror in in Diagnosis. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clapham | Putney. | Streatham. | Tooting. | Wandsworth. | ||||
| Scarlet Fever | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 798 | 2.2 |
| Diphtheria | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 555 | 2.3 |
| Enteric Fever | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 85 | 11.7 |
| Total | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 41 | 1,438 | 2.8 |
Enteric Fever shows the highest percentage of cases of mistaken
diagnosis, but this is not to be wondered at, as there is
no disease in which the symptoms are so uncertain. It is to be hoped
that medical practitioners will in future take more advantage of
the examination of patients suspected to be suffering from Typhoid
Fever, as the examination to some extent would assist diagnosis
before notification.