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98
It will be seen that there were two cases of agranulocytosis.
One (a woman aged 44 years sent in for observation) died on
the 2nd day in hospital. The other, a less severe case—
notified as ? tonsillitis—recovered and was discharged after
31 days.
Another patient, a male aged 15 years notified as "infective
catarrhal jaundice," was found to be suffering from acute
hemolytic anemia of which he died on the day following
his admission.
A further death was caused by streptococcal pneumonia
in a female patient, aged 26 years who died on the 2nd day in
hospital.
The fourth death was that of a girl aged 8 years and
occurred on the day of the child's admission. A post mortem
examination revealed that the cause of death was staphylococcal
septicemia.
An interesting feature of the type of case admitted to
hospital appears in the table of final diagnosis. It is to be
expected in a district where the relationship between the
Local Authority and the general practitioners is one of cordial
liaison, that cases of obscure illnesses which might appear to
have some relationship with infective processes are sent for
observation and diagnosis to this hospital, the more particularly
as the hospital is possessed of a cubicle system of
accommodation for the separation of the unidentified cases
from the commoner forms of infection, such as scarlet fever,
diphtheria and measles.
It thus came about that during 1937, cases of such rarer
maladies as leukemia, hemolytic anemia, agranulocytosis,
encephalitis and staphylococcal septicemia were admitted to
hospital.
This diversity of conditions and the advance of knowledge
make it necessary that specialists in various branches should
be available as consultants, and I believe that the County