SHORT WAVE DIATHERMY IN THE TREATMENT OF LUNG ABSCESS

Recently Krusen¹ in a paper on short wave therapy discussed the remarkably good results reported by Schliephake² with this form of treatment in lung abscess. Krusen himself has treated one patient, without success, although he states that he followed exactly the technic described by Schliephake, using the same type of apparatus and electrodes. After discussion of the short wave treatment of lung abscess, Krusen concludes that "further studies are undoubtedly necessary in order to confirm or refute Schliephake's claims." If the short wave treatment will cure lung abscess it is an important advance in therapeutics, as the methods of treatment in general use today are unsatisfactory. According to a recent statistical survey from the Massachusetts General Hospital by King and Lord³ the mortality is about 40 per cent. Forty-five patients of 210 (21.5 per cent) treated conservatively by medical measures recovered, most of them with acute abscesses