Clinical contributions to otology from the practice of Dr. C.R. Agnew / reported by D. Webster.

  • Webster, David, 1842-1923.
Date:
[between 1870 and 1879?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Clinical contributions to otology from the practice of Dr. C.R. Agnew / reported by D. Webster. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    gest. They stopped two weeks ago. As nearly as I can remember them I will describe them : “ I am in the habit of taking the pills just before or during my meals. When I was having the pains they came about the close of the meal, with a sudden thump, and would beat, for a few minutes, against the membrane of the ear. How long I cannot tell, as I was not in the habit of paying much attention to them and they went away without any absolute consciousness on my part of when, I would simply forget them. The first few beats were all that gave me any very great annoyance.” Pain in the head is not a very unusual effect of strychnia, but this is the first case I have seen or heard of where pain and beat¬ ing in the ears was observed as an effect of the drug. The beating sensation was, I am inclined to think, due to spasmodic twitchings of the tensor-tympani muscles, and I can conceive it to be possible that the accompanying pain was caused in the same way. It is true that we have all met with cases of throbbing pains in the ears, occurring as a symptom of acute inflammation of the middle ear, and taking its throbbing character from the pulsations of the heart, propagated through the internal carotid and other arteries in the neighborhood of the drum of the ear. But in the great majority of such cases only one ear is involved. Moreover, pain and throbbing are by no means the only symptoms in such cases. But the history of the above case proves, sufficiently, that the sensations were due to the strychnia, and the only plausible explanation I can think of is the one I have given. Case II.—Mastoid periostitis occurring during the course of “ continued fever—followed by acute suppurative inflammation of the middle ear—incision—recovery. Charles D., set. 69, farmer, was referred to Dr. Agnew by his family physician, Dr. Fred. Corse, of Kingston, Pa., with a letter of which the following is an abstract:—“ The bearer, Col. D., was attacked the first of last February with epidemic influenza, at first affecting the nasal and bronchial mucous membranes, subse¬ quently producing severe constitutional disturbance, continued fever and typhoid lesion of the bowels. During the fever the right mastoid process became swollen, red, painful, and extremely sensitive to the touch. As the fever subsided the signs of ulcera¬ tion of the mastoid cells subsided, pari passu, leaving a whitish, inodorous discharge from the right external auditory meatus. Yesterday, May 29th, the region of the mastoid again became