ACUTE FEBRILE POLYNEURITIS

ACUTE FEBRILE POLYNEURITIS. Thu B SWm 3 I was asked to see a man in the dysentery ward on account of an effusion into the kiiee-joint. I found the patient bright and cheerfuil but exceedingly emaciated. The right kiiee was flexed and contained a good deal of fluid. It was neither painful inor tender, there was no temperature and no haemorrhagic staining. I-could not discover the cause, and thought that it might be an example of so-called dysenteric arthritis. The joint very soon improved and the man began to get about again, but two weeks later he suddenly developed a large subcutaneous haemorrhage down the inner side of the leg and extending into the instep and sole of the foot. Another man recovering from a bad attack of enteric fever and who had been on milk diet for several weeks rapidly developed a large haematoma on the buttock, the tissues all round were also infiltrated with blood, and there were petechial spots on the legs. I drew off 30 c.cm. of broken-down blood clot, and a few days later a similar amount of haemorrhagic pus was evacuated by incision.