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patients were admitted as the result of positive swabs. They
were found to be harbouring bacilli in the nose or throat, but not
actually suffering from the disease. Nineteen other patients on
admission were found to be suffering from non-diphtheritic
infections of the throat.
Amongst the fifty-seven clinical cases of diphtheria,
paralysis occurred as a complication in fourteen patients. The
symptoms of paralysis noted amongst these latter cases were as
follows:—
Palatal paralysis 11
Ciliary paralysis 6
Pharyngeal paralysis 3
Paresis of legs 7
Paresis of external rectus 2
Tachycardia 1
It will be observed from the above that when postdiphtheritic
paralysis occurred, it tended to be rather severe
and widespread.
The other complications noted amongst the patients admitted
to hospital as cases of diphtheria were as follows:—
Otorrhcea 2
Otitis Media (without Otorrhoea) 2
Rheumatism 1
Nephritis 1
Seven deaths occurred amongst the eight-eight patients
admitted to hospital as suffering from diphtheria. One of these
proved not to be due to diphtheria, the clinical symptoms being
those of acute hemorrhagic ileo-colitis. Two of the deaths
from diphtheria occurred in patients admitted from outside the
Borough. It will thus be noted that four Wunbledon patients
died from this disease during 1937. One of these was a case of
laryngeal diphtheria. Tracheotomy was performed but death
ensued from broncho-pneumonia a few days later.
As in previous years, three negative swabs were obtained
from the nose and throat of all patients prior to discharge.
Three patients gave persistent positive swabs from the throat.
After the organisms present had been proved to be virulent, the
patients were operated on by the oto-laryngologist attached to
the hospital and the tonsils dissected out. Negative swabs were
then obtained and the patients discharged.
No "return" cases of diphtheria were reported during
the year.
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