Posted on Sep 20, 2023
'The Autumn Ghost' tells of innovation that saved lives during polio epidemic
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“The iron lung, which came in in 1928, was really revolutionary,” says critical care physician Dr. Hannah Wunsch. “In fact, it was the first time you had a machine that could support people's breathing.”
Though revolutionary, it still had a host of setbacks. Patients often felt trapped in a huge metal casket, a major downside to the iron lung. Plus, doctors and nurses had trouble treating patients because they had to stay encapsulated in the machine to create negative pressure that would suck air into the lungs. Additionally, for patients with bulbar polio, the mortality rate still hovered around 90% even when using the iron lung.
To address these shortcomings, Dr. Bjørn Aage Ibsen started working to create a positive pressure ventilator in 1953. The technology would effectively push air into the lungs. And, the technology was much smaller and less invasive than the iron lung. The mortality rate of the disease reduced from 90% to 20%.
“[Positive pressure] was used in the operating room by anesthesiologists when they gave someone anesthesia and paralyzed them for surgery,” Wunsch says. “For short periods of time, they would blow air into the lungs to keep someone breathing.”
Ventilator technology has been expanded since, but it remains similar to this day. And critical care, like that provided to polio patients, has become a focal point of medicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though revolutionary, it still had a host of setbacks. Patients often felt trapped in a huge metal casket, a major downside to the iron lung. Plus, doctors and nurses had trouble treating patients because they had to stay encapsulated in the machine to create negative pressure that would suck air into the lungs. Additionally, for patients with bulbar polio, the mortality rate still hovered around 90% even when using the iron lung.
To address these shortcomings, Dr. Bjørn Aage Ibsen started working to create a positive pressure ventilator in 1953. The technology would effectively push air into the lungs. And, the technology was much smaller and less invasive than the iron lung. The mortality rate of the disease reduced from 90% to 20%.
“[Positive pressure] was used in the operating room by anesthesiologists when they gave someone anesthesia and paralyzed them for surgery,” Wunsch says. “For short periods of time, they would blow air into the lungs to keep someone breathing.”
Ventilator technology has been expanded since, but it remains similar to this day. And critical care, like that provided to polio patients, has become a focal point of medicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
'The Autumn Ghost' tells of innovation that saved lives during polio epidemic
Posted from wbur.org
Medical
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World History
Posted 7 mo ago
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It was a necessary innovation to help save lives during a horrific polio epidemic... I was a child back when this all occurred and I can remember getting a Polio Shot... Excellent Post share, PO1 William "Chip" Nagel!!!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Vivi Ebert was just twelve years old. She was going to die. Near the end of August, Vivi came home from school saying she had a head-ache and went to bed. The next day she complained that she couldn’t move her arms and legs well. On Tuesday, August 26, she had a fever, headache, stiff neck, and some paralysis: the telltale signs of polio. Her mother called an ambulance and Vivi was brought to the hospital; she already had weakness in one arm, but much more concerning, she also had difficulty breathing. Since early July, the hospital had admitted many patients just like Vivi, and almost all of them had died. As her symptoms worsened, the doctors and nurses knew she likely had only a few more hours, or days at most, to live.
The polio epidemic that year in Copenhagen had begun with a trickle of cases in July. By the end of the summer the disease was roaring through Denmark’s capital and outlying regions. It was far worse than in previous years, with more cases of paralysis and difficulty breathing than anyone had ever seen. There were daily news bulletins on the radio announcing the latest areas with outbreaks."...
..."Vivi Ebert was just twelve years old. She was going to die. Near the end of August, Vivi came home from school saying she had a head-ache and went to bed. The next day she complained that she couldn’t move her arms and legs well. On Tuesday, August 26, she had a fever, headache, stiff neck, and some paralysis: the telltale signs of polio. Her mother called an ambulance and Vivi was brought to the hospital; she already had weakness in one arm, but much more concerning, she also had difficulty breathing. Since early July, the hospital had admitted many patients just like Vivi, and almost all of them had died. As her symptoms worsened, the doctors and nurses knew she likely had only a few more hours, or days at most, to live.
The polio epidemic that year in Copenhagen had begun with a trickle of cases in July. By the end of the summer the disease was roaring through Denmark’s capital and outlying regions. It was far worse than in previous years, with more cases of paralysis and difficulty breathing than anyone had ever seen. There were daily news bulletins on the radio announcing the latest areas with outbreaks."...
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