St. Louis Courier of Medicine (Volume 26) (Paperback)

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.1902 Excerpt: ... LEADING ARTICLES. THE TREATI1ENT OF PUERPERAL ECLAMPSIA. By A. Drrivaux, M.D., St. Louis, Mo. In his recent thesis, Dr. H. Paris has described the treatment of puerperal eclampsia as it has been carried out for some time in the hospital wards of Professor Porack at the Maternity of Paris. This treatment combines blood-letting, saline subcutaneous injections and rectal douches. The results must, to be appreciated, be compared with those of its component parts used singly. In a first series, purgation, blood-letting and a variety of hypnotics, such as chloroform, chloral, etc., were used, with a mortality of 27 per cent in fifty cases. In the second series, artificial serum, hypodermic injections, were alone used, with a mortality very much like the preceding one--26.84 per cent in forty-one cases. In the third series, by combining blood-letting, hypodermoclysis and enteroclysis, in forty-seven cases the mortality fell to 6.38 per cent; this spendid showing would be still better had not a few cases been included that were doomed to certain death. Following is the modus operandi, unless some special counter indication exists, there will be some difference according to whether the patient is in the prodromal stage or in the eclamptic state. In the first case begin with rectal douching, then draw about 300 grams of blood. It goes without saying that an absolute milk diet must be enforced. In the second case, no matter what the form of seizure or its intensity, whether visual, gastric or cerebral, begin immediately with the following treatment: 1. A copious blood-letting (400 to 600 grams). 2. A hypodermic of 1000 grams artificial serum. 3. Rectal douching repeated until flow of bile is secured. What are the results? With few exceptions the spells become shorter ...