Evening star., 1948-03-10

the admission Of the patient to Gal
linger Hospital. If this action is the
result Of "collusion," then the 'col-
lusion" was on the part Of others
not DR.. Blades.
when reports on tests were re-
ceived late in January, it was found
that Mrs. Allocca had tuberculosis
This was the first time that her
case had been diagnosed as tubercu-
losis. On January 80, she was
transferred by the hospital authori-
ties, not by DR.. Blades, to the
tubercular ward for treatment.
Consultation Held.
"Dr. Katz, chief of tuberculosis
services at Gallinger Hospital, and
DR.. Eff1er, chief of surgical services
at Gallinger, held a consultation
They agreed that the patient need
ed surgery, and, in the interim,
streptomycin treatment.
"It was at this time that DR.
Blades was asked to examine Mrs
Alocca. He concurred in the opin-
ion already expressed by Drs. Katz
and Effier. How can this consulta-
tion between three outstanding
medical authorities to save the life
Of patient be designated as being
in collision to squeeze in a pa
tient, who had already been regu-
larly accepted by the hospital?
"The streptrmycin treatment was
administered to the patient. CAS- you
know, MIR. Commissioner, the uni
versities in Washington furnish the
best of physicians to augment the
Gallinger staff, and, in some in
stances through the research lab
oratories are able to help supply
facilities which the city does not
have funds to supply. This is par
ticularly true in cases of the very
expensive drugs) In this instance
the streptomycin used for Mrs. AL
locca came from Public Health
research laboratory af1iliated with
the George Washington University
school of medicine. It cost the Dis
trict nothing.
A&enCS hneW OF case.
"Your hospital agents were aware
of the case throughout its history.
That this is true is substantiated by
the fact that they admitted her as
an emergency case, and again by
the fact that several days before
the patient was scheduled for sur
gerry, the head of the Permit Bu-
reau, Mr.. Sanderson, stated that if
1t were possible for the patient to
be removed to a Maryland institu-
tion before the surgery was per-
formed, he favored this being done.
"The appropriate hospital au-
thorities made the arrangements for
the transfer of Mrs. Allocca to the
Maryland State Sanitorium at SAM
toria, Md. 1t Is said that she was
agitated and depressed when told
she would have to leave Gallinger.
She left the hospital and returned
to Baltimore, Md, on about Febru-
ary 13. She was admitted to the
Maryland hospital four days later.
"It is not probable that Mrs.
Allocca received streptomycin during
the four days she was not in q
hospital. Examination at the Mary
land institution reveal that her
right lung, during the intervening
time had become infected and that
it will be impossible to operate on
the left lung as was planned.
When I talked with DR.. Blades
about this matter, he told me that
he felt that Mrs. Allocca's illness
had been so acute, so severe and
her predicament so tragic that all
efforts to help save her life would
have been justified. knowing you
as I do, I am sure that in such q
case Of emergency you would agree
that thosekwho were responsible
for this pakt,tnt did the rieht thiue