OCR Text |
Show Compressed Air Aids in Cure of Tuberculosis SCIENCE has been at work with the compressed com-pressed air treatment known to physicians as the "artificial pneumo thorax," in which undiluted un-diluted air. or nitrogen gas, has been used as the agent. It has been discovered that men afflicted with tuberculosis, who have gone down to work in the water-sunken caissons of tho Dravo Construction Con-struction Corapanv of Pittsburgh, and who have been subjected to working conditions in compartments com-partments of compressed air, Instead of showing an aggravation of the di-ease have gained weight and streugth. The first tests of compressed air treatment In this country were made by a doctor In Silver City, N M , and a noted group of specialists are giring the compressed air treatment serious consideration con-sideration at Saranac Lake Hospital Dr Alexander, Alex-ander, formerly of the United States General Hospital. Asheville, N. C, says the treatment Is cn credit for beneficial results in both tuberculosis, tuber-culosis, and in pneumonia. A cubic foot of compressed com-pressed air contains more oxygen than a. cubic foot of free air. Desert air Is diy air and has long been considered beneficial in the treatment of tuberculosis patients Compressed air Is also dry air. The men in the caissons therefore may have benefited both from the dryness of the air and from the extra supply of oxygen. |