London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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East Ham 1909

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]

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74
In calculating the death-rate from this disease, the above
14 "carrier cases" and also 8 cases in which the diagnosis
was incorrect, have been excluded, and the death-rate is based
on cases of actual clinical Diphtheria only.
Excluding the above and also the 19 cases remaining in
Hospital at the end of the year, 220 completed cases of
Diphtheria were treated during the year, and of this number 16
died. This equals a case mortality of 7.27 per cent.

The case mortality in Hospital from this disease during the preceding five years was as follows:—

190414.619079.4
190511.9190812.7
190510.919097.27

During the past year, four of the deaths occurred within
48 hours of admission to Hospital, 8 took place within a week,
the remainder at a later period from various complications.
Included in the total number of patients admitted, are 18
cases in which the disease was of the Laryngeal form.
The operation of Tracheotomy was required and performed
in Hospital on eight of these, all of which recovered.
In two other instances, the symptoms being very urgent
this operation had been performed before sending the patient to
Hospital, they were admitted for the necessary after treatment
but both of these cases proved fatal.
In the treatment of the 261 cases which were in Hospital
during the year, nearly 2½ million units of Antitoxine were used,
or an average of about 9,000 units for each patient.
The chief complications which occurred in the 261 cases
under treatment during the year were as follows:—