AJR 2000; 175:596
© American Roentgen Ray Society
The Treatment of Acute Pneumonias with Roentgen Rays
Lane F. Donnelly1
1
Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave.,
Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039.
From the AJR Archives: Celebrating the ARRS Centennial
Introduction
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 Introduction
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Comment. During the first half of the 1900s, a significant number of
articles published in the AJR dealt with the therapeutic use of
roentgen rays for many types of diseases. In this 1939 article, Powell
describes his experience with the routine use of therapeutic radiation in the
treatment of acute pneumonia. Although this therapy seems outrageous by
today's standards, there were few effective options for treating pneumonia
before the advent of antibiotics. Powell reported a decrease in the mortality
rate for streptococcal pneumonia from 29% to 5% after the initiation of
routine radiation therapy.
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Fig. 1. Roentgen ray therapy for streptococcal pneumonia in 42-year-old man.
- Radiograph of chest at admission shows left upper lobe consolidation.
- Radiograph of chest obtained 6 days after A shows significant
decrease in opacification.
- Graph shows rectal temperature versus time. Patient's temperature returned
to normal, except for fever spikes, 24 hr after radiation therapy.
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