Anti-Toxin in Diphtheria.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 212, 11 March 1896, Page 2

Anti-Toxin in Diphtheria.

Dr Clubbe, of the Hospital for Sick Children, at Glebe, was able to give the annual meeting of subscribers some interesting particulars as to the results achieved there during the past 12 months in the treatment of diphtheria with serum. Here is the doctor's statement : — " During the year 1895, 134 cases were admitted to the diphtheria cottage; 132 cases were discharged cured, 42 died, and 12 cases remained under treatment on December 31, 1895. This gives a general death rate of 24-10. Twenty-one of the cases did not have the anti-toxin serum (because there was none available at the time), and of these 12 died, a mortality of 52.58 per cent. Among the 21 cases that did not get serum there were eight tracheotomies, with six deaths. The mortality for those that were treated with serum was only 20 — 26 per cent. Among the cases treated with serum there were 62 cases that required tracheotomy, and of these 24 died, a death rate of 3870 per cent. The death rate for non-operation cases treated with serum was only 11-7 per cent, and 14 cases died within 24 hours of admission. If we deduct these cases we find the death rate for the year is only 16-22 per cent. These figures compare most favourably with the results of the preceding year, when the general mortality was 47-5 per cent, as against 24-10 per cent of this year. The death rate for tracheotomies was 69-8 per cent, compared with 38-70 per cent this year. This proves conclusively that the treatment of diphtheria by anti-toxin serum is a complete success. It is probably one of the greatest triumphs o£ medicine of our age, and* will be the means of annually saving a large number of lives.