Reports of the practice in the clinical wards of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, during the months of November and December 1817, and January 1818, and May, June, and July 1818 / by Andrew Duncan.

Date:
1818
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports of the practice in the clinical wards of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, during the months of November and December 1817, and January 1818, and May, June, and July 1818 / by Andrew Duncan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    covered, but she has again returned to the hos- pital affected, though in a less degree. The skin was parched in almost every case, but after the crisis, in a few, obstinate perspiration retarded the convalescence. The heat was in most cases increased. In summer it was generally higher than in winter, often reaching to 104 and 105 in the axilla. In one fatal case, No. 66, it re- mained at 103 for some hours after death. Of the sequelae the rheumatic and paralytic affec- tions were most distressing. In some cases the ap- petite returned very slowly, and in a few great irri- tability of the stomach remained. In a few cases there supervened parotids or troublesome boils, es- pecially around blistered parts, and at one time, in the beginning of January, many patients were affected with lichen simplex during their conva- lescence, exciting the suspicion of contagious sca- bies having got into the wards ; but the eruption appeared in both wards, and affected only the convalescents from fever. Relapses frequently occurred, and could often be traced to an error in regimen. They took place at various periods af- ter the decline of the original fever. The date of dismission is inserted to shew the duration of the disease, and the period of conva- lescence, and furnishes useful information for the economical management of hospitals. The number of days our fever patients were in hospital, is expressed in the next column. The following table shows the general results in those dismissed by us :