Dangerous Doctors

Most doctors know that visitors often do more to stir up hospital patients than to soothe them. But the doctors' own ward rounds can have the same effect, sometimes with fatal results, reported Finnish Doctor Klaus A. J. Jarvinen in the British Medical Journal.

Studying the histories of 39 Helsinki hospital patients who died of coronary occlusion after stays of seven to 42 days, Dr. Jarvinen discovered that six of them, subject to severe emotional stress, had died during or after a physician's visit. Among the cases:

P: An accountant, 58, came to the hospital 21 days after an attack of angina pectoris. He seemed in satisfactory condition until the 16th day in the hospital. The head physician was making his round; as the doctor drew closer, the patient became nauseated, suffered a severe attack and died within two hours.

P: After suffering chest pains during a tantrum, a female post-office clerk, 68, was admitted for treatment. In the ward, she grew excited over trivialities. After nine days, when the doctor approached, she became restless. Asked how she felt, she tried to answer, and died on the spot.

What precautions can the doctor take to avoid bringing on emotional upsets in such high-strung patients? Jarvinen's suggestion: physicians should maintain easy, sympathetic attitudes, try to soothe the patient's anxieties. Most important, hospitals should play down the importance of ward rounds. Nurses should not bustle and fuss, sprucing up a patient and remaking his bed, before the doctor comes.

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