London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of Westminster 1914

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]

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36
often a single negative result from examination of sputum is accepted
as negativing the diagnosis of tuberculosis, and the patient has continued
to be treated for bronchitis or some other non-tuberculous
disease.

Nationality.—The majority of the patients were English, but there were also the following :—

Males.Females.Males.Females.
Irish113Russian84
Scotch51Italian62
Welsh12Swiss2
French74German61
Belgian1

There were 11 Jews, 2 being English, 1 German, the remainder
Russian (4 being refugees).
Other Forms of Tuberculosis.—In addition to the 59 patients notified
there were 13 deaths of patients who had not been notified during life.
There will probably always be a proportion of these cases not notified, as
there is greater difficulty in deciding that the illness is due to tubercle.
Many of the patients had been ill for some years, and 14 were suffering
previous to taking up residence in Westminster. The parts of the
body effected were:—
Spine 4
Bones and joints 22
Glands 22
Abdomen 11
Meninges of brain 7
Pleura 1
Skin 1
General 1
Other parts of body 3
There were 6 deaths from abdominal tuberculosis, 8 from meningeal
and 9 from affections of other parts.
In 12 instances the parents or other relatives, and in one instance
a lodger were suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis.
Treatment.—With 5 exceptions all the patients notified from common
lodging-houses or as homeless received institutional treatment of varying
duration; some of them did not go into the infirmary until within a
short time of their death, but many go in and out several times in
the year, while others are fairly permanent residents. Probably few
of this class of patient have any treatment while out of the infirmary.
In three of the five exceptions the nature of the illness was only found
on post mortem examination.
Of the others, 175 of the 291 pulmonary cases notified in 1914, or
who died unnotified, and 72 notified in previous years, had institutional
treatment of one kind or another during the vear.