The treatment of enteric fever by cold baths / by W. Gilman Thompson.

  • Thompson, W. Gilman (William Gilman), 1856-1927.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The treatment of enteric fever by cold baths / by W. Gilman Thompson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    bright, the voice is strong, and the pulse is full and regular; in a word, the whole clinical aspect of the case is completely altered. The occurrence of menstruation need not interrupt the treatment, and in one successful case forty baths were given although the patient was five months pregnant. Seven deaths occurred from the following causes: Four from intestinal perforation and peritonitis, two from hemorrhage and one from pneumonia. It can hardly be claimed that the baths precipitated either the fatal hemorrhage or perforation, for the majority of cases with hemorrhage recovered, and of the cases of perforation one had had thirty-six baths and another forty-three before that casualty ensued. It is true that the tubbing” has neither shortened the ordinary duration of the disease in the cases which I have treated, nor has it altogether prevented mild relapses, which followed in nine cases, but com- plications have been very few and the general result has been remarkably satisfactory. Among the complications observed were intestinal hemorrhage in six cases which recovered, bronchitis, otitis twice, bursitis, ischio-rectal abscess, and the unusual phenomenon of a large abscess of the thy- roid gland. Several patients who recovered had tem- peratures ranging above 106° F. before the treatment was commenced. The other patients all did extremely well; several seemed to enjoy the effects of the “tubbing,” and in those who were dull and lethargic on admission the baths had a truly wonderful effect in improving the apathetic mental condition and the pulse. The chief characteristic of nearly all the cases treated by bathing was the absence of the nervous symptoms so commonly observed, such as stupor or delirium, subsultus, etc. None of the cases received any anti- pyretic medicine while the bath treatment was in progress. Several patients complained of tenderness and pain in the calves of the legs and soles of the feet which gave considerable annoyance. The symp-