History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

Otolaryngology 293practitioners to pay more heed to "aural catarrh, here used in its broadsense of inflammation of mucous membrane. To say that the more commondiseases of the ear are too much neglected by the general practitioner, is tostate a fact almost universally admitted." All of this "in order to preventpermanent loss of hearing, and in not a few cases, loss of life."In a symposium on diseases of children (1878), Dr. Gill of Jerseyville,Illinois, listed 83 cases of tracheotomy for croup and diphtheria performedin the State of Illinois and gave the international history of the disease,beginning in 1576 and even quoting from Hippocratic times. (Trans. 111.State Med. Soc, 1878.) The microscopic, chemical and histologic findings,together with the laryngoscopic appearance, were described. The prognosiswas bad and only about 20 percent recovered. Dr. Gill attempted to differentiatemembranous croup from false croup and from severe catarrhallaryngitis and laryngismus stridulous. He believed the membrane to bepathognomonic. Treatment was described in detail, divided into medicaland surgical, including emetics, tonics and disinfectant remedies, steaminhalations, good nutrition and treatment of the fever with quinine. Externallyhe preferred hot applications, and advised tracheotomy relativelyearly. An illustration is presented of a trachea tube with cannula. This isa remarkably well-written article by Dr. Gill replete with historical dataand common sense management. He followed up with another report ofthe surgical treatment in 1879(page 113). He brought out startling figuresof deaths from "croup" in Chicago, a total of 224. In 1875, 1876 and 1877respectively 139, 276 and 136, a total of 775 in four years!At this time Dr. J.P. Mathews of Carlinville, Illinois, entered into adiscussion of the value and dangers of the nasal douche. (Trans. 111. StateMed. Soc, 1878, p. 210.) He apparently was not a specialist for he wrote,"This could, perhaps, be made more interesting and reliable had it beenwritten by one who had made a special study of the diseases incidental tothe nasopharyngeal cavities." He further stated "a proper appreciation ofdiseased conditions of the throat and nose is made obligatory upon everygeneral practitioner. True, in large cities, it becomes an easy matter to turnover to the specialist any cases he does not choose to treat, but in a small citythe size of the one it is my lot to reside in, the community expects and demands,almost omniscience of that human being termed the family physician."Matthews, however, underestimated his background for he hadvisited special clinics in New York and had read well his special subjects.Dr. S. O. Richey, assistant aural surgeon at the Illinois Charitable Eyeand Ear Infirmary, contributed an article on "Restoration of the MembranaTympani," stimulating the perforation edges with silver nitrate. (Trans.111. State Med. Soc, 1878, p. 219.)That interest in the entire field of otolaryngology was rapidly increasing