New-York tribune., 1903-04-27
CUBICLES as A CURE
n Ne7c Method of Treatment for
COnSHm ptiOn.

traditions and electric mechanism is disIfked az
a costly addition both to a regular practtioners
and specialists Office plant. A powerful i'm
| pulse from the throne was requisite in order to
| set the Cancer Commission in motion and to se-
/ cure scientific examination Of electric high fre
| quency" treatment Of the disease: and not even
the personal interest taken By the King an4
! other members Of the royal family in hospital
work has impaired momentum Investigation
of the causes OF tuberculosis and the most prac-
| tica methods Of treating one OF the CHIEF
scourges Of the times. most interesting ex-
| pertinent in small London hospital for SUP
plying artiaciaiIy the atmospheric conditions OF
| high mountains and keeping sufferers from
| tuberculosis under the curative and stlmuativs
| Influences OF ozone in cubices has passed almost
without observation. although 1t is directly in
| line with the current medical preference for
| open air treatment I have recently read in a
scientific magazine essay English inhos-
pitality TO the creative mind. with this moral as
| the lesson Of Mr.. Barrie's play. The Admirable
Crichton': that the man Of science. the engineer
| the inventor and the mechanic are cIassed very
low in the social scale of civilized society. That
seems an unduly serious method OF exposition
| for Mr. Barrie's delightful fantasy II the moral
| had been applied TO the medical profession with
it's stagnant conservatism ard antfpathy to new
| ideas and original research. there would have
been more open ground for satire upon indiffer-
| ence to science
The experiment OF which have been speak
| ing has been tried in the Oxygen Hospital in
Fitzroy Square. where ulcers. lupus and wounds
are treated by the direct action OF oxygen. As
IT was found impracticable to test adequately
the resources of oxygen treatment for lung
trouble by inhalation Of the gas from bags. tho
Duke of Argyle. who had shared Princess
LOuises interest in the work Of this hospital
proposed the construction Of cubicles where VIC
| Tins of consumption could sleep at night and
spend the greater part Of the day IN atnos-
phere artifcially adapted for their requirements
The plan has been carried out a small scale
two cubic1es having been erected in the wards
and provided with scientific mechanism By
which the air is dried. filtered. ozonized and
rarefed before it reaches the patient In these
airtight chambers the consumptive patient may
not have the freedom Of Colorado or Arizona.
nor the scenic variety of Davos, at the entrance
to the Engadne. or Of the Peak OF Tenerifs.
but he can breathe atmosphere as pure and
| as dry can be found at the SUBMITS OF noun
tains, and can be invfgorated by oxygen electFi-
| fed into ozone. A marked degree OF sdlubrity
of climate indoors. rather in cubicle. is need
ed as a compensation for solitary Imprisonment
hour after hour. day after day. in large glass
box. The patient experiences relief in breathing
as soon as he enters the cubicle, and. irksome as
| is the close confinement in glass cell barely
/ large enough to hold his cot. chair and writing
table. it can be borne patiently when he has the
I consciousness Of improved health after pro
Ionged and enfeebling illness
These cubicles 612 feet long. feet wide
and feet high, and are elevated on blocks
| inches above the floor. The walls are OF wood
and polished plate glass. and at one end are two
folding doors, closing with joint and rendered
alright. Opposite the doors and attached TO the
wood is the small chamber where the air Is
treated The outer air, when drawn by
tiIating shaft into the chamber. Is first filtered
through layers OF cotton WOOL for the removal
| OF mechanical and chemical impurities. second.
dried by passage through perforated trays
charged with chloride OF calcium. and. finally.
ozonized by means of AndriOIis tube, which
is called into action for five minutes in each
quarter of hour by automatic clock with
the necessary electric connection Above the
doors there is a square chamber containing
exhaust fan. and there is a ventilatlng shaft
leading from 1t through the roof Of the building
Since the output is regulated to exceed
the inlet the atmospheric pressure within the
cubicle is somewhat reduced and the air is rare
fed The attendants report that a patient
spends about sixteen out of twenty-four hours
in the cubieIe, and, far from being harassed and
inconvenienced by his narrow surroundings, is
unwilling to return to the ward, since he finds
| It more difficult to breathe there. Convalescence
naturally recOnciles patient to solitary confne-
ment in his glass cell. The cucible, when once
constructed, is not expensive IN operation The
cubicles at the Oxygen Hospital cost about
shilling each day in chemicals
These experimental euDicles have been In use
for two years with remarkable success The
natron supplies me with two Illustrations OF the
treatment. The first is OF acute tubercU-
| losis of the lungs. The patient was man twen-
| ty-two years old: two OF his brothers and a
maternal uncle had died OF consumption When
examined on entering the hospital his tenn
perature at night ranged as high as 1O2 degrees;
| there were cavities in the apices OF both lungs;
he had several attacks OF blood splitting; the
expectorations were profuse and purulent. and
the microscope disclosed large quantities OF
tubercle bacilL The patient remained under
treatment in the cubicle for six months. when
he left the hospital in greatly improved health
and returned to his work The tubercle bacill
disappeared from the sputum after four months
under glass; the temperature in the evening De-
came normal: the patient gained eleven POUNDS
in weight. and before he was discharged as a
convalescent the cavities in his lungs were Iound
| to have healed and contracted so that on the
left. or worse. side the top Of the ches1 was
unmovable.
The second illustration is a case or chrome
phthisis The patient. man forty years old,
had suffered from consumption for five or SIX
years. When admitted into the hospital he was
bringing up large quantities OF muco-purulent
| expectorations containing considerable amount
of tubercle baciIH. He was almost breathless,
and could hardly walk upstairs. He had symp-
toms of cavity at the apex Of the right lung
and OF general infltration. He remained in the
| ffaI for oh fuberCIA bacill