No. 2. Case fatal—appearances on dissection.—George Cousins, aged ten, was brought into quarantine at nine, A. M. 13th May, on account of his mother being ill of cholera. About an hour after admission began to vomit and purge, and it appears he has had diarrhœa severely all the morning. Pulse 102, extremely weak; complains much of sickness; countenance collapsed; areolæ rather dark under the eyes; voice very weak.
He had hot air-bath immediately, and got the following dose:—
℞. Ol. ricini, ℥ss; Tinct. opii, gtt. xv; Aq. menth. pip. ℥iss. M. ft. haust.
Half-past eleven, A. M. Draught retained; sickness has gone off; complains of heat of bath; let it be removed.
Noon. Has vomited some watery matter, with undigested potatoes in it, and again a rice-watery fluid with flocculi. He has now a considerable degree of jactitation; countenance more sunk, and great desire for cold water. These symptoms went on increasing in severity in spite of sinapisms to spine, effervescing draughts, calomel, and Dover’s powder, warm water, enemeta, &c., and head symptoms were now making their appearance.
Half-past two P. M. Pulse quite imperceptible, and has been so for an hour and a half; he lies quiet and drowsy, with eyes turned upwards; face bedewed with cold perspiration; hands and feet cold and very blue.
My colleagues, Drs. Combe and Lewins, saw him with me at this time, and concurred with me in thinking him not only beyond all hope of recovery, but likely to die within an hour or two.
From what I had seen of the resuscitating powers of Dr. Latta’s treatment on the boy’s mother this morning, by venous injection, I determined on giving it a trial, though this was a case rather likely to bring discredit on the remedy than otherwise. The following solution, at temperature 102° F. was slowly injected into the median basilic by means of a common silver blow-pipe attached to Reid’s enema syringe:—
℞. Muriat sodæ, ℨi; Carbon sodæ, gr. x; Aq. calid. ℔vj. solve. T. 102.