Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

biomedicalephemera:

Diphtheria is known for creating a slimy/sticky/smelly exudate in the throat and mouth, but there are quite a few variations on its etiology and presentation.

A. Common type of diphtheria. Child three years old, seen on fourth day of illness. Exudate covering pharynx, tonsils, and uvula. Received 16,000 units of antitoxin. Throat clear on sixth day. Discharged cured.

B. Follicular type of diphtheria. Child seven years old, seen on second day of illness. The membrane involved the lacunae of the tonsils. Resembles follicular tonsillitis. Received 6,000 units of antitoxin total.

C. Hemorrhagic type of diphtheria. Child seven-and-a-half years old, seen on sixth day of illness. Tonsillar and post-pharyngeal exudate. Severe nasal and post-pharyngeal hemorrhages during exfoliation of membrane. Received in all 15,000 units of antitoxin. Throat clear on ninth day of illness. Myocarditis developed. Case discharged cured four weeks after admission. 

D. Septic type of diphtheria. Child eight years old, seen on fifth day of illness. The pseudo-membrane in this case covered the hard palate and extended in one large mass down the pharynx, completely hiding the tonsils.

Diseases of Infancy and Childhood. Louis Fischer, M.D., 1917.