| OCR Text |
Show KiKh'a C'oinumi)tl..r. Cora. It canntft yet be said that the exact itatus of Koch's remedy is fixed; nor can we even yet say with certainty that this much heralded cure is destined to survive sur-vive among: established methods at all The most that is claimed for it by its : most ardent advocates is that it seems j capable of depriving the bacillus of the material in which it thrived best i. e., of disin tegratiu-,' and destroying tuberculous tuber-culous tissue. There hns been no claim that it has any direct effect upon the existence ex-istence of the bacillus, nor that it, having hav-ing deprived the bacillus of its food, ; tends in any way to remove that parasite i from the body, and thus to eliminate the j possible source of danger of subsequent or more general infection. Under its influence in somo forma of local tuberculosis especially of the akin it has been shown that tissue which was of the very lowly organized variety characteristic of the disease has been at first in part and then wholly replaced by a tissue of higher organization, and one that is likely to bo permanent. In regard to tuberculosis of the lunga, there can be no question that improvement improve-ment in the patient's general condition, and also evidence of improvement at the site of the disease have followed the use of this remedy. Tho general improvement improve-ment manifests itself by a gain in weight, lessening in fever, increased appetite, ap-petite, better sleep. The local improvement improve-ment is surmised from certain changes to be observed by auscultation and percussion, per-cussion, together with a diminution in the severity of the cough and in the amount of the expectoration, and also a diminution in the number of the bacilli in the expectoration or their complete disappearance from it. This has not always been the case. In not a few instances no improvement has resulted, and in other cases direct and most damaging results, including hemorrhage hem-orrhage and even death, have been brought about by it. In the treatment of tuberculosis of the bones and joints results seem to have been widely different. differ-ent. It is certain that some cases have been benefited, and equally certain that others nave not Popular Science Monthly. |
