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Of the 457 cases which were discharged or died, 381 suffered
from faucial diphtheria, 38 had nasal diphtheria only, 21 had
laryngeal diphtheria, 4 were cases of otorrhoea with positive
swabs, and 13 were bacteriological cases showing no clinical signs
of the disease.
Among 381 faucial cases, 75 had severe clinical attacks and
306 were mild or of moderate severity. The amount of antitoxin
administered to the severe cases varied from 48,000 units to
224,000 units given partly by intravenous and partly intramuscular
injection. The average amount was 98,000 units. The amount
of antitoxin given to the other cases averaged 19,000 units.
Post diphtheritic paralysis occurred in 37 cases. It was
severe in 18 cases and mild in 19 cases.
Laryngeal diphtheria:—48 cases were admitted as laryngeal
diphtheria, but 27 of these proved to be wrongly diagnosed. Of
the 21 true cases, 9 required tracheotomy and 4 of these proved
fatal. Three of the fatal cases suffered also from severe faucial
diphtheria. The amount of antitoxin administered to the laryngeal
cases averaged 24,000 units.
Fatal cases:—All the fatal cases were children under 12 years
of age. One died in the ambulance and 10 others were so toxic that
they died within 24 hours of admission. The other cases died at
varying periods during the first two weeks of illness, with the
exception of 3 cases which died of post-diphtheritic paralysis late
in the disease. One child of 11 months who died from nasal
diphtheria was suffering also from marasmus. The fatality rate
among the faucial cases was 11.54 per cent. The average duration
of illness of the fatal cases prior to admission was 3.76 days,
and the amount of antitoxin administered to them averaged
90,000 units. The average duration of residence of all the cases
was 40.37 davs.
Measles.
Only 10 cases were under treatment during the vear. Of
these, 6 had been admitted under a diagnosis of scarlet fever and
2 as laryngeal diphtheria; 8 were of a mild type, and 2 had a
severe attack. All made a satisfactory recovery.
Whooping Cough.
Sixty-five cases were under treatment during the first 3
months of the year. Of these, 54 were discharged and 11 died,
giving a fatality rate of 16 per cent. All the fatal cases were
children under 4 years of age, and were complicated by broncho
pneumonia. The disease was associated with scarlet fever in 5
cases and with diphtheria in 4 cases. Two diphtheria patients
contracted whooping cough in the wards.
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