DIPHTHERIA ANTITOXIN 



131 



mortality of 37.4 per cent. Of the 565 operative 

 cases, 66 were either moribund at the time of 

 operation or died within twenty-four hours after 

 injection. Should these be deducted, there remain 

 499 cases operated upon, by intubation or tracheo- 

 tomy, with 84 deaths, a mortality of 16.9 per cent. 



" Let us compare the results of intubation, in 

 cases in which the serum was used, with those 

 obtained with this operation before the serum was 

 introduced. Of 5546 intubation cases in the practice 

 of 242 physicians, collected by M'Naughton and 

 Maddren (1892), the mortality was 69.5 per cent. 

 Since that time, statistics have improved materially 

 by the general use (in and about New York, at 

 least) of calomel fumigations. With this addition, 

 the best results published (those of Brown) showed 

 in 279 cases a mortality of 51.6 per cent. 



" But even these figures do not adequately 

 express the benefit of antitoxin in laryngeal cases. 

 Witness the fact that over one-half the laryngeal 

 cases did not require operation at all. Formerly, 

 10 per cent, of recoveries was the record for 

 laryngeal cases not operated upon. Surely, if it 

 does nothing else, the serum saves at least double 

 the number of cases of laryngeal diphtheria that 

 has been saved by any other method of treatment." 



Ill 



In 1898, the Clinical Society published the 

 Report of their Special Committee, based on 633 

 cases ( Trans. Clin. Soc. f xxxi., 1898, pp. 1-50). The 



