Show for appendicitis cut death rate by DR JAMES W BARTON IN N CASES of acute appendicitis dic itis itis generally agreed that if the patient undergoes operation during the first 36 hours there bli not ile more than one in die after HEALTH I 1 1 this time the COL COLUMN VM N death raie in L I 1 creases rapidly vin proportion to the delay before operation this does doe not hot mean that all those thos e not operated upon will wil die in fact most of them will recover although the after results result s may mean years of misery some physicians keep an observant eye upon their acute appendix patients and feel that they would sooner take chances with the appendicitis than have the patient undergo the shock of operation however in the great majority of cases when the average normal healthy individual is attacked by acute appendicitis the records show very definitely that his chances for life grow less according to the length of the delay dr barton before operation some interesting figu figures are furnished by dr L laz zareni who records his observations 3 ot of ado cases of appendicitis operated on at the general Geri eral hospital milan these basei casei cases were emergency I 1 cases that Is ii the condition conditi of the patient barient demanded immediate operation the record was made tor for the tour four years 1932 to 1935 survey made blade of patients in 1932 there were cases with 30 deaths per per cent 1933 cases with 25 deaths per cent 1934 cases with 19 deaths per cent I 1 in all the cases immediate operation was vas pei performed formed 0 n almost almast all the chii appendix showed areas of gangrene bangren e ar or perforation bad ahad burst and in most of bf the caie cases the patients ha d been ill se several v er 11 days and had been treated by pur natives and enemas dr lazzarini emphasizes the ua im ji within 24 to 48 hours pom rpm the onset 0 of the symptoms OMS i i thi the ab abaye e figures showing a great c decrease acre lse in inthe the death rate within a period of four years i mean s that pa and physicians i realize a ls ize more mor p fully the necessity ot of e early arly opera afon on 1 that thai 16 in aises cases of a persistent acute p airi in inthe the abdo men it is unsafe to use a purgative and that evena ev enan ii enema may be r dangerous |