The decline in incidence of tuberculosis of bones and joints

Abstract

An actual decrease in the number of patients suffering from tuberculosis of the bones and joints has been observed at the New York Orthopaedic Dispensary and Hospital. The percentage of patients with tuberculosis of bones and joints, as compared with total new patients applying for dispensary care, has fallen from 65.3 per cent to 0.6 per cent during the past seventy years. Similarly the incidence of bone and joint tuberculosis in children, in relation to all new dispensary patients, has fallen during the past twenty-five years from 9.7 per cent to 0.1 per cent. It is emphasized that these figures are unreliable in estimating the general incidence of tuberculosis of bones and joints throughout the country, and it is hoped that other hospitals will make comparable reports. A discussion of factors entering into the decline of tuberculosis of bones and joints has been presented.