The Hospital Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 2, April 15, 1909 — John Shaqi
The Hospital Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 2, April 15, 1909Various
Philosophy
The Hospital Bulletin, Vol. V, No. 2, April 15, 1909
Various
Medical colleges -- Alumni and alumnae -- Maryland -- Baltimore -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals
The next morning the patient was unable to pass his water, and had to be
catheterized. Aside from this no ill effects were seen, and his
temperature and pulse remained practically at the same place. At the end
of 48 hours the drains and dressings were changed and the patient was
doing well and the wound draining profusely. At no time was the bed
elevated and at no time was a stimulant administered, with the exception
of a hot normal salt enema on the day following the operation. Several
times during his stay a dose of castor oil was given, but no other
medication was necessary. As the dressings were reapplied and drains
introduced daily the wounds were found to be granulating up, and
gradually these closed, first the one in the lumbar region and then the
one in the abdomen. By the tenth day a normal temperature was present,
and he sat up on the twelfth.
The child went on to an uneventful recovery, and went home on January
21st fully cured.
This was undoubtedly one of those cases of gangrenous appendicitis
where, owing either to the intensity of the infection or to a thrombosis
of the vessels supplying the appendix, the vitality of the tissues is
lost and gangrene results. Now, "even in this, the gravest form of
appendicitis, the general peritoneal cavity is often protected against
infection by walling off the pus, and the appendix, detached in the form
of a slough, is often found on opening the localized abscess." But "in
other cases there is from the beginning the symptoms of peritoneal
sepsis and peritonitis."
Now, it seems to me that a great deal depends on the kind of
infection--or, rather, the kind of organism infecting--and often the
difference between a localized abscess and a general peritonitis is
really the difference between a colon and a streptococcus infection.
Again, should a general peritonitis develop, I have noticed from a
number of cases in the wards that the prognosis practically depends on
the organism, although we all know that a general peritonitis is a
mighty grave condition, no matter what it is due to.
Another point in favor of the child was the fact that the gangrenous
process seemed to start in the tip of the appendix, and it seems that
when it starts there, there is greater likelihood of localization, and
when it starts in the base a greater likelihood of general peritonitis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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