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Puerperal Pyrexia.
Puerperal Pyrexia, as defined in the Public Health (Notification of
Puerperal Fever and Puerperal Pyrexia) Regulations, 1926, means any
febrile condition, other than pueperal fever, occurring in a woman within 21
days after childbirth, or miscarriage, in which a temperature of 100.4
Fahrenheit, or more, has been sustained during a period of 24 hours or has
recurred during that period.
Provision is made in these Regulations for consultations between the
Doctor notifying and obstetric specialists, and arrangements have been made
with five specialists whose names are included in the list of the staff at the
end of this report, to meet practitioners in consultation on these cases upon
request.
Consultations were held in one case notified under these regulations.
The number of cases of Puerperal Pyrexia notified was thirty-one. It
is the practice to follow up these notifications with a request for a final
diagnosis of the condition from which the patient is found to be suffering, and
from replies received. It appeared that four of the cases were finally diagnosed
as Puerperal Fever, two from conditions only fortuitously associated
with the puerperal state, and the remaining twenty-five from a variety of
conditions all directly related to pregnancy or childbirth.
There were three deaths among the cases originally diagnosed as
Puerperal Pyrexia.
Twenty-six out of the thirty-one cases notified were removed to hospital.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
This disease, the duty of notifying which, was under the Public Health
(Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1926, placed solely upon the
medical practitioner in charge of the case, consists of a purulent discharge
from the eye of an infant occurring within 21 days of birth.
If not properly treated, Ophthalmia Neonatorum may cause blindness
or serious impairment of vision. It is due to a gonorrheal infection of the
child's eyes during birth. Infection is nearly always from the genital tract
and the mother should accordingly also undergo treatment. Unfortunately,
however, it is only possible to arrange this in very few cases.