[Incidence of obstructive respiratory diseases in 1839-1850 at the Hospital for Poor Children in Pest]. / Légúti obstruktív megbetegedések elöfordulása 1839-1850 között a Pesti Szegény-Gyermek Kórházban.

According to the observations of several authors the number of obstructive respiratory diseases kept rising during the past decades, at the same time this disease was infrequent in the last century as indicated by the sporadically detectable data pertinent to adult patients. The 1st Pediatric Department of the Semmelweis University of Medicine, legal successor of the Poor-Children's Hospital of Pest is in possession of the complete case reports of 5050 out-patients of the period between 1839-1850. It can be established on the basis of these records that the diseases of the lower respiratory tract were frequent. Approximately 7 disease forms were distinguished with 323 children who suffered from bronchopathies. Of them only 13 (0.26% of the total patient material) were spasmodic bronchitis. Agoston Schopf, director of the hospital wrote at this period his book on Pediatrc. This work as well as the preparatory material of further tomes show clearly that the doctors of the hospital were well acquainted with the method of physical diagnostics and were capable to diagnose obstructive respiratory diseases. These case records are assumably the only pediatric patient material of this period not only in Hungary but also in Europe. Data confirm that obstructive respiratory diseases were infrequent at this period in children.