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
Croydon 1910
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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24
NECESSITY FOR PROMPTNESS IN DEALING WITH
DIPHTHERIA.
In my last Annual Report I called attention to the fact that many patients die from diphtheria because they do not come under treatment sufficiently early in the course of the disease. The following are the approximate times at which patients came under treatment during 1910:—
| Day of Disease. | Patients. | Deaths | Mortality, per cent. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | — | — |
| 2 | 80 | 3 | 3.7 |
| 3 | 47 | 1 | 2.1 |
| 4 | 36 | 5 | 13.8 |
| 5 | 12 | 1 | 8.3 |
| 6 | 10 | — | —- |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | 20.0 |
| 8 & upwards | 14 | 2 | 14.2 |
It is noteworthy that none of the cases admitted on the first day
died, and that the mortality of those admitted on the second and third
days of this disease is small, while there is a considerable rise on the
fourth and fifth days.
Though the number of patients which come under treatment
during the first two days of the disease is somewhat larger than in
1909, there is still room for improvement. Some of the delay is
apparently due to hesitation in making a diagnosis, but I also find that
in a large proportion of instances, the doctor is not summoned
sufficiently early. In the case of young children there is also much
doubt a< to whether the alleged date of onset of the disease is to be
relied on. Diphtheria in small children is often painless and insidious
in its preliminary stages and it is not until the child is poisoned by the
disease that unobservant persons notice any departure from health. It
cannot be too often repeated that every sore throat in a young child is
a serious symptom.'
"EARLY TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA"
By an Order of the Local Government Board, known as "The
Diphtheria Antitoxin (Outside London) Order, 1910," the Council was
empowered to provide through the Medical Officer of Health a