Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon].

  • Ceylon. Civil Medical Department.
Date:
[1913]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    16. Diphtheria.—16 cases were treated with 3 deaths, but as 9 of these cases were returned from a dispensary, the results as regards mortality were not ascertained. Fourteen of these occurred in the Western Province, and the remaining 2 were treated in the Kandy hospital. 17. Chickenpox.—3,222 cases occurred, with no deaths. All the Provinces returned cases. 18. Parangi.—4,882 cases of this disease were treated in hospitals alone during the period, with 33 deaths, as against 3,335 with 43 deaths for the previous period. Of these, 1,229 have been treated by Salvarsan “ 606,” with 1 death from epileptic fits. This is the only instance in which an untoward result occurred, and it cannot be said to be directly due to the administration of the drug. All other cases, except those still under treatment, have been cured, and no relapse is yet recorded in any of the cases treated since treatment was first initiated. Of the cases still under treatment, it has been observed that in some, where bone lesions are present, the disease seems to be somewhat resistant to treatment, while in others it yields. As the cases noted as resistant have occurred in institutions in which the treatment has only in the latter part of the period been in operation, the efficacy of the drug in all such cases is still open to conjecture. The drug was administered both intravenously and intramuscularly. The reactions noted were from 10 to 20 minutes after injection; rigors and fever with pains in the joints for 2 to 4 hours, followed by diarrhoea, perspiration, and in some cases vomiting ; headache persisted for two or three days, but at latest on the fourth day the patient was perfectly well; children and females were almost completely free from such reactions, and it wfas only in the aged and debilitated males that they were prolonged. In addition to the three hospitals and the clinic for tropical diseases in which 4he treatment was adopted previously, in ten other hospitals the treatment was carried out during the period. At one of these, Dambulla, where the treatment has been in operation only for nine months, 549 patients were treated without either adverse result or resistance to the action of the drug. Steps are being taken to extend the treatment to six other hospitals. It should bo mentioned that, in addition to the employment of Salvarsan in syphilitic cases with marked success in primary and secondary cases, patients suffering from such diverse manifestations as fibroma of the foot, carbuncle, gonorrhoea, orchitis and rheumatism, and neurasthenia have benefited from its administration. The limitations of this medicament, even if the apparent cure proves in the future to be a prolonged temporary alleviation, are still ill-defined. 19. Cancer.—Under this heading 406 deaths were registered in 1912, as against 394 in 1911 and 264 in 1910. The attention of medical practitioners has been directed to this subject from time to time through many channels, notably through the reports punlislied by the Cancer Research Fund, and it is therefore probable that diagnosis is more accurate than formerly, and the figures tend to show that the disease is not widespread, nor is it on the increase. Turning to the records of the hospitals, it is seen that the number of cases of malignant disease (sarcoma and carcinoma together) treated during the period was 347, as compared with 221 in the previous twelve months period. Of these, 251 were treated in the General Hospital, Colombo. The provincial distribution is as follows :— Central Province North-Western Province Northern Province Province of Uva Southern Province . . * Province of Sabaragamuwa Eastern Province North-Central Province Western Province Sarcomata. 4 1 Carcinomata. 26 2 14 2 8 1 4 285 Total . . 5 342 Exclusive of the 251 treated in the General Hospital, Colombo, the remaining 91 cases were distributed through the various parts and organs of the body as follows :— Males. Females. Total. Cheek Penis and scrotum Breast Tongue Uterus Jaws .. Stomach Lips Vagina Bladder Pancreas 10 .. 11 .. 21 12 .. — .. 12 — 5 5 1 6 7 — . . 20 . . 20 4 1 5 1 1 2 4 4 8 — 1 1 — 1 1 — 1 1 32 51 83 Not stated . . .. — .. — .. 8 91 20. Phthisis.—In the Registrar-General’s returns for 1912 3,795 are shown as deaths from phthisis, as compared with 4,286 in 1911. During the eighteen months period there were 2,328 cases reported from the hospitals. In these reports the notified cases registered at the Municipality of Colombo are not included. For the hospital cases the following tables show the race and sex distribution in the