Evening star., 1952-05-23
Many Cases Of Polio
Are Safer at Home,
Pediatricians Are Told
By WnIlnce <. cInxton

polio cases now hospitalized as a
matter of routine was recon-
|mended today to the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
DR.. Philip M. Stimson, associate
professor Of clinical pediatrics at
the Cornell University Medical
College, told 1000 baby care spe-
|cialistS at the Hotel Statler::
Until recently. polio specialists
and public health authorities
generally advocated prompt hos
|pitalization not only of all early
cases Of polio but even suspected
leases. Now. the pendulum is
swinging back to home care for
selected cases and with good rea-
SON."
DR.. Stimson listed these ad-
Ivantages::-
/. The patient is saved from the
fatigue and nervous tension of a
hospital trip. Authorities agree
exhaustion in the early stages
often aggravates the ravages of
polio.
2. BY the time a polio diagnosis
is suspected. the rest Of the family
already has been exposed and
danger from further exposure is
presumably negligible.
3. Home care relieves hospital
overcrowding and unnecessary
overwork for nursing stats.
Types for Home Care.
DR.. Stimson warned, however,
that. great care must be taken in
deciding If a patient should be
kept at home. He said these types
of patients were suitable for home
|care-"suspected" cases, recogniz-
able cases with no paralysis and
selected cases with slight muscle
weakness but no possible threat to
life.
He pointed out that in some sus-
pected cases, a trip to the hos
pital for diagnosis and a spinal
puncture "a diagnoStic procedure
in polio) may change a non-para-
lytic case to one in which paraly-
sis results.
DR.. Stimson said some county
medical societies now appoint a
panel of diagnostic consultants
who are available to confer with
the family physician on whether
a patient should be hospitalized
He said home care is particularly
recommended where consultation
is available, and where local
health authorities can provide
visiting nurse service and physi-
cal thereapists.
He told the pediatricians, how
ever, that disqualification should
be required when a patient has in
creasing fever, weakness of the
shoulder muscles, or any slight
suggestion of breathing difficulty.
Children and Glasses.
DR.. Frank d. Costenbader,
president of the District Medical
Society and senior attending
ophthalmologist at Children's S
Hospital here. told the pediatri-
clans that some children who are
given glasses probably do not need
them because they are performing
adequately at school and at play
and have no discomfort.
He pointed out that glasses do
not correct such eye defects as
farsightedness, ghtedness
and astigmatism, but merely COM
pensate for the deficiency.
Consequently. he said. since
glasses do not cure they should be
actually worn when the child
needs to see better or more COM
fortably. Vs.
He recommended use of glasses
only when the defect is creating q
problem, and then only when the
problem causes discomfort or
trouble in school.
Work on Rabies Vaccine.
The pediatricians were told
yesterday the National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, have been
working for some time trying to
remove the unknown factor in
rabies vaccine which sometimes
causes paralysis and death.
DR.. George A. Hottie. senior
scientist at the laboratory of bio
logics control, said the vaccine is
much weaker. It is not known
what effect it would have on
humans.
DR.. Hottie said scientists have
succeeded in removing this un-
known paralysis factor only after
many chemical steps.
There still is much work to be
done in producing completely
safe vaccine, DR.. Hottie said. He
added, however, that a good deal
of hope is justified" No tests on
human beings are contemplated