THE DICK TEST IN NORMAL PERSONS AND IN ACUTE AND CONVALESCENT CASES OF SCARLET FEVER

Abstract

Scarlet fever is one of the serious diseases of childhood, and ranks as the fifth most fatal ailment in the age group from 4 to 9 years. Seventy-four per cent. of the deaths from scarlet fever occur in children before they have reached their tenth birthday. It is not the mortality alone, however, that makes the disease so dreaded by those who know its complications. The late appearance of renal and cardiac sequelae that trace their history back to an attack of scarlet fever in childhood, are in many instances evidence of the destructive action of the scarlet fever toxin during the acute stages of the disease. Among the septic complications may be mentioned the frequent involvement of the ears, which terminates in partial or total deafness. Among the new measures that give promise of enlarging many of our long accepted ideas about scarlet fever is the Dick test¹