Table showing Details of Cases during 1906 and 1907 at the M. A. B. Hospitals where Intubation is favoured
| Intubation only. | Both operations. | Tracheotomy only. | Total operations. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Deaths. | %. | Cases. | Deaths. | %. | Cases. | Deaths. | %. | Cases. | Deaths. | %. | |
| Eastern | 78 | 04 | 05.1 | 44 | 19 | 43.1 | 030 | 13 | 43.3 | 152 | 036 | 23.6 |
| Western | 25 | 07 | 28.0 | 10 | 04 | 40.0 | 126 | 41 | 32.5 | 161 | 052 | 32.2 |
| Park | 31 | 03 | 09.7 | 11 | 07 | 63.6 | 016 | 11 | 68.7 | 058 | 021 | 36.2 |
| Total | 134 | 14 | 10.4 | 65 | 30 | 46.1 | 172 | 65 | 37.7 | 371 | 109 | 29.3 |
Certain points in the table deserve attention:
1. In cases treated by intubation only, the results are excellent, namely, death in 10.4%.
2. In cases where tracheotomy was afterwards performed the mortality is high, i.e. 46.1%.
3. Where tracheotomy was the original operation the mortality is also high, i.e. 37.7%.
4. The total operations at these hospitals taken together show a rather higher mortality than appears in the table below.
As regards the first three points, the facts are the same as in any published statistics dealing with the relative advantages of the two operations. I wish to emphasize that the results obtained by intubation depend very largely upon the selection of the cases and I agree with Turner and Cuff that, in order to arrive at any conclusion in the matter, it is necessary to compare the total results of those hospitals where intubation is favoured with those of the hospitals where tracheotomy is chiefly employed.
Table showing Comparative Results at ‘Intubation’ and ‘Tracheotomy’ Hospitals