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fever hospitals, the doses used then are now often admitted
to have been too small—the results and effects of the adminstration
of varying doses of antitoxin serum are only to be gauged
by careful observation in a large number of cases.
In a general hospital a case of diphtheria may, at first, be
for nearly 24 hours under the care of a house surgeon or house
physician who may have had little or no personal experience of
the serum treatment, and who may not know the amount of
serum best fitting for the condition of the patient.
There is ground for the belief that in general hospitals the
amount of serum given is too small—so that much valuable time
is lost.
It would be better if general hospitals would give up receiving
diphtheria cases for treatment. This action would be of advantage
to the patient, and by releasing a number of beds would
benefit the institutions.
Urgent cases requiring tracheotomy should be dealt with as
they occurred, and removed to fever hospitals at the earliest
opportunity.