Salt Lake Tribune | 1908-07-14 | Page 5 | Use of Oxygen Overcomes Dreaded, Deadly Peritonitis

I USE Of OXYGEN OVERCOMES j DREADED, DEADLY PER5TONOJS I I : i XEW YORK. July 13. Remarkable results attained in treatment of peritonitis peri-tonitis with pure oxypon at Beth Israel hospital have' raised hopes that a way has been found at last to combat thfs dread disease which places tho stamp of death on 95 per cent of its victims. A striking illustration of the ollicacy of oxygen was given when thcro was" discharged dis-charged from the hospital Mrs. Anna A bias, a sulferer from peritonitis, whose case upon her admission was at first given up as hopeless. On the day when she was taken to the hospital, two and a half weeks ago. Dr. M. Seaman Bainbridgc had b'jon discussing dis-cussing with Prof. Henrv Mansfield Silver. Sil-ver. I he hospital chief surgeon, a theory that oxygon, if tried, would prove a cure for peritonitis. An hour afterward Dr. Silver received the summons to make a heroic effort to save the woman's life. When ho reached her side he found that she was suffering with general peritonitis, and that hor temperature was 103 degrees. Seeing that the old method of draining drain-ing ofi" the bacterial substance in the region re-gion of the peritonium would bo without avail in her case, ho resolvpd to follow the suggestion given by Dr. Bainbridgc. After tho abdominal cut had been made and tho usual treatment given, the wound was so sutured that it left room i for a small tube. This tube was con-! con-! nee led with a tank of oxygen which was j run through writer to thofoughlv purifv I it. and after tho flow had continued for three minutes tho tube was -withdrawn. ' Mrs. Abias evidenced such remark- J able improvement from tho very start that other peritonitis sufferers were sun- j ilarly treated. There arc now at the hospital four other persons who were given the cure. All have shown im- nrovement equally as great as that of , Mrs. -Abias, and it is expected that when the3 too, have been in tho hospital hos-pital for two weeks and a half, thov will be able to go home as well as thev 1 i ever were. i