An experience of treatment of pneumonia in Bashkortostan during the Great Patriotic War, 1941 - 1945
The aim of this review was to analyze an experience of treatment of pneumonia in hospitals of Bashkortostan during the Great Patriotic War, 1941 - 1945. Methods. Archive materials of the Bashkir State Medical University and Ufa hospitals, attestors' recollections, original scientific papers and articles published in Soviet academic medical journals of the time and later historical issues about the medicine of Bashkortostan at the wartime have been used in this review. Results. Clinical course and pathogenesis of pneumonia, treatment and rehabilitation of wounded militaries with pneumonia have been described including specific features of pneumonia during the 1943-1944 influenza pandemics. Typically, diagnosis of pneumonia was based on clinical signs, chest X-ray, and sputum microscopic examination. A common treatment included intravenous antibiotic therapy with Sulfidine, physiotherapy, physical and psychological rehabilitation, and nutritional support. These medical interventions could reduce mortality from pneumonia from 30% to 4%. Conclusion. Basic principles of diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia developed by Soviet clinicians during the Great Patriotic War have being currently used both in the national Russian medicine and worldwide.