AND ENVIRONMENT 35 



For example, this first entry means that among 

 incipient cases there were in the years of experience 

 following the sanatorium treatment 4-1 times as many 

 deaths as in the standard life-table for persons of 

 the same age. In the case of the far advanced, 37-5 

 times as many. In examining this table I must warn 

 you that the older data from Pollock and Williams 

 are, while the best available, not at every point fully 

 comparable with the sanatoria data. But the gist of 

 the matter is that absolutely no other data have so far 

 been issued to demonstrate whether or not the sana- 

 toria are doing any good. The argument in favour of 

 them has been chiefly opinion and guess-work. 



In the face of such a table as the above I think 

 we may state that there is no evidence at present to 

 show that sanatoria have in any way prolonged the 

 lives of the consumptive in a marked or substantial 

 manner. 



I can conceive nothing more unjustifiable than a 

 statement recently made by a writer on the Fight against 

 Tuberculosis that 80 % of the cases admitted to a certain 

 sanatorium were cured. In the first place, there are no 

 data in the report of the sanatorium to which he refers 

 which justify this statistical statement. Secondly, if 

 it were true, which it apparently is not, that 80% of 

 patients were dismissed from the sanatorium as * appa- 

 rently cured ', then the real problem is — How does the 

 mortality of this class compare with that of a similar 

 class in pre-sanatorium days? Mr. Elderton's table shows 

 that in our present state of knowledge we have no 

 evidence that their mortality is any better than it 

 used to be. Thirdly and lastly, we have seen that 50 

 to 70% at least of the population have undergone one 



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