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
St Pancras 1917
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras]
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24
OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM.
31 cases were notified during 1917, 27 by doctors and 4 by midwives.
Of these, 3 were found to have begun after the age of 3 weeks, and 1 was
in a St. Pancras institution in the person of an infant whose mother's home
was out of London. The corrected number of notified cases was therefore 27,
equal to an incidence rate of 7.1 per 1,000 births. Other numerical details
will be found on pages 13.14.
4 cases were regarded by the visitor as grave, 11 as moderate, and 12 as
slight.
7 of the cases have since died. 8 were illegitimate.
The cases are classified below according as the mothers were attended in their confinement by doctors, midwives, or medical students (in their own homes), or were delivered in hospital.
| Attended a birth by | Cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum. | Total number of births notified. | No. of cases per 1000 births notified. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | 6 | 1055 | 5.7 |
| Medical Students | 1 | 813 | 1.2 |
| Midwives from Institutions | 3 | 303 | 1.0 |
| Private Midwives | 5 | 757 | 6.6 |
| Delivered in Hospitals and Institutions | 12 |
A visiting nurse was called in in 11 cases, 5 cases were removed to hospital,
and 2 cases died in the institutions where they were born. The other 9 cases
were nursed by their own families.
The results of treatment were as follows:—
| Complete recovery (including 5 who afterwards died) | 21 |
| Blind | 1 |
| Sight damaged, but improving | 1 |
| Died before recovery | 2 |
| Cases lost sight of | 2 |
PUERPERAL FEVER.
9 cases were notified during 1917, equal to an incidence rate of 2"4 per
1,000 births. 4 deaths occurred amongst these, giving a case mortality of
44 per cent. One other death was registered (in an institution outside St.
Pancras), the total number of deaths for the year being 5.
No particulars were available as to 1 case, and the following figures apply
to the remaining 8:—
4 followed the birth of live-born infants, 1 a dead viable infant, and 3
abortions.