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Hammersmith Chest Clinic Annual Report, 1966.
The volume of work at the Chest Clinic remains very similar to that in previous years
with a total of 22,818 patient attendances. The three major respiratory disorders, chronic bronchitis,
carcinoma of the bronchus, and tuberculosis, account for the majority of attendances; but
in addition, a considerable and increasing variety of other respiratory disorders are being treated
at the Clinic. For the first time the number of new patients suffering from lung cancer has exceeded
those with tuberculosis.
Efforts are constantly being made to improve the administration and techniques employed
at the Clinic, and thus increase the overall efficiency in the treatment of patients, particularly
out-patients. Pioneer work has, and is being, carried out in the use of intermittent outpatient
drug regimes for treating tuberculosis: much preliminary information has already been published.
Work is also being performed in the field of bronchoscopy. Efforts here include attempts
to improve the visualisation of the bronchial tree, and in collaboration with the department of
cytology, to recover secretions from it more efficiently, especially for cytological examination.
Not least, considerable advances are being made in the photography of bronchoscopic appearances.
This provides permanent records for comparison and greatly assists in teaching. The
weekly bronchoscopy list, moreover, is the main routine session for the whole hospital: 248
bronchoscopies were carried out in 1966.
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