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
West Ham 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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Corrected diagnosis:—68 cases, notified as scarlet fever were
wrongly diagnosed and proved after admission to be suffering
from the following complaints:—Rubella 16, toxic rash 14,
broncho pneumonia 5, measles 6, tonsillitis 4, gastro-enteritis 3,
whooping cough 3, mumps 1, diphtheria 4, cervical adenitis 1, no
disease 5, erysipelas 1, chickenpox 2, dermatitis 1, appendicitis 1,
erythema 1.
Fatality rate:—Of the 913 cases admitted during the year,
6 proved fatal; 3 of these were adults. A man, aged 20 years,
and a woman, aged 36 years, were extremely toxic and died
within 24 hours of admission. The other adult was a woman
aged 67 years who was suffering from senile debilitv. One child,
aged 9 years, died from endocarditis, and the other two children
died from septic scarlet fever. The fatality rate was .65 per
cent.
In 28 cases the patient was found after admission to be suffering- from a second infection as follows :—
| Scarlet Fever with faucial diphtheria | 3 cases |
| ,, ,, ,, nasal diphtheria | 11 ,, |
| ,, ,, ,, chickenpox | 8 ,, |
| ,, ,, ,, rubella | 3 ,, |
| ,, ,, ,, whooping cough | 2 ,, |
| ,, ,, ,, nasal diphtheria and whooping-cough | 1 ,, |
Of the 927 cases discharged, 299, or 32 per cent. suffered from complications as follows:—
| Adenitis | 83 cases or | 8.95 | per cent. |
| Albuminuria | 49 ,, ,, | 5.28 | ,, ,, |
| Arthritis | 10 ,, ,, | 1.07 | ,, ,, |
| Endocarditis | 2 ,, ,, | 0.21 | ,, ,, |
| Jaundice | 3 ,, ,, | 0.32 | ,, ,, |
| Nephritis | 21 ,, ,, | ,, ,, | |
| Rhinitis | 56 ,, ,, | 6.04 | ,, ,, |
| Otorrhoea | 71 ,, ,, | 7.65 | ,, ,, |
| Vaginitis | 4 ,, ,, | 0.42 | ,, ,, |
Diphtheria.
The total number of cases under treatment was 588. Of
these, 408 were discharged, 49 died, and 131 remained under treatment
at the end of the year.
Corrected diagnosis:—113 cases which had been notified as
diphtheria were wrongly diagnosed and proved after admission
to be suffering from the following complaints:—Tonsillitis 57
Laryngitis 16, Quinsy 9, Pharyngitis 4, Adenitis 2, Appendicitis
1, Rhinitis 2, Enteritis 1, No disease 2, Asthma 1, Bronchitis 6,
Broncho Pneumonia 5, Measles 2, Lead Poisoning 1, Mumps 1,
Scarlet Fever 3.
116