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112
APPENDIX.
TUBERCULOSIS DISPENSARY.
ANNUAL REPORT, 1931.
To the Medical Officer of Health.
I beg to submit a report on the work carried out at the
Tuberculosis Dispensary for the year ending 31st December, 1931.
The personnel of the staff of the Dispensary remained the same
as for the previous twelve months. The routine work of the Dispensary
has been carried on as in previous years. I have indicated
in former reports the great difficulty that is experienced in persuading
the "Contacts" of definite cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
to attend the Dispensary for examination. There has been a considerable
increase in the number of attendances of "Contacts"
during 1931, but still only a small proportion submit themselves
for examination. The examination of "Contacts" has always been
one of the chief functions of the Dispensary in an endeavour to
search out the early case of Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Most of the
"Contacts" examined are children, and although the examination
of such children is useful, it is rare to find cases of Pulmonary
Tuberculosis amongst them. The greatest difficulty is found with
the young adult, who is very unwilling to come to the Dispensary
for examination. The incidence of Tuberculosis both Pulmonary
and Non-Pulmonary is higher in the age period between 15 and 25
years than in any other period, and it is highly desirable that
"Contacts" of this age period especially should be examined at
the Dispensary. Every effort is made by the Dispensary Staff
to urge these young adults to attend for examination, but this
effort has not been very successful. I have little doubt that the
fear of Tuberculosis prevents some young "Contacts" from attending
the Dispensary, whilst others scoff at the very idea that there
can be anything the matter with them.
The examination of the sputum of Battersea residents, inpatients
at St. James's Hospital, which has previously been undertaken
at the Dispensary, was discontinued towards the end of the
present year, the London County Council having now made arrangements
for this examination to be carried out at one of its own
laboratories. Some 400 to 500 specimens of sputum were examined
annually at the Dispensary for St. James's Hospital.
The treatment of suitable cases of Pulmonary Tuberculosis
by Artificial Pneumothorax is now being more generally adopted,
and during the year a larger number of Dispensary patients have
received this form of treatment. The results in selected cases are
good. Artificial Pneumothorax is usually induced in Sanatorium or
other institution, and the patients receive "refills" as out-patients