EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF POLIOMYELITIS

Treatment of poliomyelitis should begin as soon as possible after the onset of the disease in order to relieve the discomfort of patients and to minimize crippling. An analysis of 1,125 cases of poliomyelitis treated in Minneapolis during the 1946 epidemic reveals that the symptoms and observations are sufficiently charateristic to enable the diagnosis to be established in most patients within twenty-four hours of the onset. The study also discloses that paralysis is not a useful diagnostic sign because paralysis or weakness of the muscles is not a common early event and in a considerable number of cases does not occur at all. To await the appearance of paralysis to confirm the diagnosis or to begin treatment is inadvisable. It is now recognized, but should be emphasized, that patients without paralysis are often seriously ill and may become crippled from conditions other than paralysis which affect the muscles. All cases