British and Foreign Medical Review (Volume 6); Or Quarterly Journal of Practical Medicine and Surgery

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1838. Excerpt: ... saved by operation at the first, and which, in my opinion, ought strictly to be added to the losses from that practice; an arrangement which would materially affect their tables of results." (p. 98.) A proportion of the mortality from primary operations was observed to arise from a peculiar febrile condition, which occurred at a period varying from two to three days to ten or twelve after the amputation, and which the author ascribes to the quick succession of two shocks to the nervous system. At least, he found this condition less liable to occur after secondary amputation, when the shocks were necessarily separated by a much longer interval. Towards the conclusion of the volume there is an abstract of the cases, seventeen in number, of the traumatic tetanus which occurred in the Legion. The first six were treated by bleeding, opiates, and calomel combined with opium; none of the remedies being carried to any great extent: all these cases were fatal. Of the other eleven, six arose from simple flesh-wounds: of these, one recovered, which was treated by carbonate of iron; the others, in which bleeding, acetate of morphia, calomel and opium, and tartar emetic were the remedies, were fatal. The remaining five furnished one case of recovery, though the patient subsequently died of irritative fever with affection of the knee-joint. These cases were treated with opiates, bleeding, and tartarized antimony, all employed to a moderate extent. Amputation after tetanic symptoms had occurred was found, as usual, fruitless. Two cases of recovery out of seventeen is a more favorable result than is generally experienced in this obscure and untractable disease. We regret that a more extensive trial was not given to carbonate of iron, as it was successful in the only case...