EPIDEMIC POLIOMYELITIS IN CHILDREN: Clinical Study, with Special Reference to Symptoms and Management of Bulbar Polioencephalitis

DURING the period from July 1, 1946 to Dec. 31, 1946, 2,877 cases of acute poliomyelitis were reported in the state of Minnesota, an incidence of approximately 1 case per thousand of population. 1 The purpose of the present paper is to report the clinical experience with 464 of the patients who were admitted to the pediatric service of the University of Minnesota Hospitals, chiefly from communities and rural areas outside Minneapolis and St. Paul. Attention was directed particularly toward problems arising during the acute phase of the disease, thus limiting the period of observation to approximately two weeks in most cases. As a consequence, a study of convalescence, the evaluation of long-continued therapeutic procedures and an appraisal of residual involvement were not possible. The data were compiled from examination of the individual clinical record in every case. However, as a general policy, the detailed description of individual cases was