Changing Concepts in the Bed Rest Treatment of Tuberculosis

¹ Superintendent and Medical Director, Erie County Tuberculosis Hospital, Erie, Pennsylvania.

1) A brief historical review of the rest principal in the treatment of tuberculosis is given.

2) It is postulated that there exists in the tuberculosis hospitals and sanatoria of the United States a wide divergence in the practical application of the basic principal of general body rest.

3) The value of twenty-four hour daily bed rest as compared to partial bed rest for cases with unstable lesions is advocated. Statistical evidence pro and con this point of view are discussed.

4) Various theories relative to the manner in which general body rest mechanically effects pathologic lesions of the lungs are suggested.

5) It is concluded that as we approach the age of "specific" or "partial specifics" in the therapy of tuberculosis, bed-rest, the basic form of treatment should be placed on a more uniform and scientifically developed basis. A plea is made for a renewed interest in the subject.