Southern Medical and Surgical Journal - Georgia Regents University

46 Cases of Pneumonia Typhoides. [January,tongue coated with a thick yellowish coat, and moist, skin hotand diy; he had vomited a number of times and had frequentdischarges from the bowels ; coughed frequently without expectorating.His breathing was oppressed, his countenancecontracted, eyes icterode and dull. Rale crepitans over theright latteral region of the chest.'^i Tar. Emetic, or. ss. ) •r\ r u•o 1 u TV/rn IOnce m lour hours.Sulph. Magnesia, 3 ss. )The next day's report was, that he had not vomitted since hetook the medicine, and his bowels had moved twice only. Deliriumcontinued, pulse 110, and skin moist, slight dulness onpercussion, and tubular breathing had taken tne place of thecrepitus. Same medicine continued.14th. All was worse, constant delirum ; the eye's had the peculiartyphoid stare; coughed little, expectorated nothing;pulse small and 130, skin dry.^ CalomeL m\ ss. 1 t? c -u'•Ti I T J r-k « [ tiVery lour bourse1 ulv. Ipecac, and Upii, aa gr. ss. )16th, No amendment.I^. Calomel, gr. j. ^Opii, gr. i. > Every two hours.Camphor, gr. ij.)16th, 10 A. M. Still worse, no cough', rapid bronchial breaithingof the "blowing kind," quite up to the scapula and clavicle.I now added to the last prescription two grains of lead, evefytwo hours.17th, 9 A. M. When I entered the foom this morning,- helooked up, and vv^ith a natural expi'ession of countenance, andin a perfectly rational manner, jocosely asked me whether I wastrying in how short a time I could treat a man to death. Andhe was sweating profusely, with pulse down to 100, and breathingcomparatively easy. Cough had returned also, with a fre'eexj)ectoration.On the 18th the gums were slightly affected, and a rapid eoAvalesencefollowed.We are aware that the recovery of three patients from attacksof severe inflammation during the use of acetate of lead, statedas a simple, isolated fact, can be of but little value. But if thesecases, in their symptoms, all point to a certain pathological condition,state, or stage of disease, in which the ordinary remediesseemed to lack power to effect a favorable change, and whichchange seemed to be produced by lead ; and if to this fact we*can add a rational explanation, founded upon an analogous operationof lead in other diseases, we certainly go as far as thref^"