Civil War Washington

CASE 116.—Diagnosis—remittent. Diarrhœa and rose-colored spots; no cerebral symptoms.—Private Oscar H. Field, Co. C, 24th N. Y. Vols.; age 30; was taken Sept. 23, 1861, with intermittent fever, and admitted on the 30th as a case of remittent fever, presenting a quick strong pulse, 100, continuous headache, a red and slightly coated tongue and capricious appetite. Dover's powder was given. The patient vomited during the night; next day the tongue was dry, red at the edges and brown in the centre, and the teeth covered with sordes. Turpentine emulsion was given every two hours, with small doses of opium, ipecacuanha and nitre. On October 2 wine and cinchona were ordered in repeated doses; at night the patient perspired a little. On the 3d the skin was of natural temperature and presented some rose-colored spots, which were perceptible to the touch and disappeared on pressure; the bowels, which had been quiet since admission, were on this day moved four times. He rested well at night, and on the 4th had a natural skin, moist and slightly brown tongue and feeble pulse, 90 per minute; three stools were passed. During the following week the patient continued without much change. On the 5th there was some ringing in the left ear, with slight headache on the following day; on the 10th marked deafness with tinnitus aurium. The bowels were somewhat relaxed at this time, the pulse from 80 to 100, the skin natural and the tongue brownish and inclined to be dry or, occasionally, moist and yellow-coated except at the edges, which were red. On the 11th fifteen grains of quinine, with six of blue-pill and two of opium, were given in two doses at an interval of two hours, with four grains of quinine every two hours thereafter. During the night profuse sweating occurred, and next day there was no stool. On the 14th the patient was transferred to Baltimore, Md.