Pneumonia at a Base Hospital

there were admitted to the medical wards 1,285 pneumonia patients; 857 of these had lobar pneumonia and 428 of these had bronchopneumonia.The majority of the cases in September and Octo- ber, sixty-nine in number, were of the lobar pneu- monia type, which we are used to seeing in civil prac- tice, and I felt that the pneumonia question in military service was to be one of great interest and great hope, because of the comparatively low mortality in these months.Unfortunately, this opinion was rapidly changed, and in the following months the change was one which caused great anxiety and apprehension.During the month of September there were no deaths from either bronchopneumonia or lobar pneu- monia, and during the month of October, there were also no deaths from bronchopneumonia; but there were six deaths with a 10 per cent.mortality from lobar pneumonia.The cases observed in September and October were typical of the lobar pneumonia described in textbooks.There were the sudden onset with chill, high temperature, rusty sputum and well marked areas of consolidation.The cases of broncho¬ pneumonia did not differ in any marked way and were essentially the same as those seen in civil practice.In November there were 170 cases of lobar pneu¬ monia and seventy-five of bronchopneumonia ; in December there were 225 of lobar pneumonia and 139 of bronchopneumonia.The mortality of these two months of the lobar pneumonia cases was, respec¬ tively, 32 and 29 per cent., and of bronchopneumonia, 4 and 29 per cent.In January the mortality of lobar pneumonia was 29 per cent, and of bronchopneumonia 53 per cent.The percentages of deaths gradually declined, and up to April 27, 1918, the total percentage of deaths in lobar pneumonia was 28.The total per¬ centage of mortality in bronchopneumonia was 26, and from both bronchopneumonia and lobar pneu¬ monia up to April 27, 1918, it was 26.07 per cent.It is difficult to give a definite reason for the differ¬ ence in the mortality in the later months compared with that of the first two months.It is possible, first, that the large number of cases of bronchopneumonia that followed measles may have been a potent factor.Up to March 22, 1918, 33 per cent, of all pneumonias were those that followed measles.There were in the