Civil War Washington

CASE 68.—Mental dulness​; sordes; vibices; right iliac and hepatic tenderness, but no diarrhœa nor rose-colored spots; improvement about the end of the 3d week.—Private W. Patchen, Co. F, 74th N. Y. Vols.; age 18; was admitted Nov. 2, 1861, having been taken sick two weeks before with chills, anorexia and pain in the back. The case on admission was diagnosed typhoid fever. On the 3d the patient was dull and stupid, his eyes suffused, cheeks congested, pulse 100, skin hot and dry, tongue dry and clean, lips and teeth covered with sordes, appetite lost; there was some tenderness and gurgling in the right iliac region; twelve grains of quinine were given at once, followed after a time by a half-ounce dose of castor oil and by turpentine emulsion every three hours. Next day one stool was passed; the patient had some cough and hepatic tenderness, and vibices appeared on the chest. On the 6th he had tinnitus aurium. On the 8th he seemed better; his tongue was red at the tip and edges and coated white in the centre; his bowels had been moved but once since the day following his admission. He improved gradually after this, and was transferred to Baltimore, Md., December 3.