Dr. C. J. Brown new medical group president

              As the 81st annual convention of the Louisiana State Medical Society neared its close here Wednesday, Dr. C. J. Brown, New Orleans, the society's president-elect, took. over as president.
pther, high lights of closing sessions at the Roosevelt hotel included choice of Monroe as the 1962 convention city, election of new officers and prediction taht the staphylococci outbreaks which , have been sweeping the nation will soon subside.
"They're already dwindling/' said Dr. Heinz F. Eichenwald of New York city. "These things move in cycles, you know. Hepatitis is now on the upswing and should, reach its peak in 1962.
New officers elected Wednesday include Dr. Ralph H. Riggs, Shre veport, presidentelect; Dn Thgo_JBrierre, New Orleans, first vice-president; Dr. Gordon Peek, Baton Rouge, second vice-president; Dr. Eugene Countiss, New Orleans, third vice-president, and Dr. Charles Odom, New Orleans, chairman of the house of delegates.   .
Councilors re-elected are Dr. Guy R. Jones, Lockport; Dr. John L. Bevan, Baton Rouge; Df. J. Y, Garber, Lake Charles, and Dr. R. E. C. Miller, Alexandria.
In discussing the staphylococci outbreaks which have been causing the hospitals so much grief lately, Dr. Eichenwald said such outbreaks seem to occur more or less regularly every 15 years. 1 "The fact that so many people develop the staph germ is not due entirely to lack of precautions on the part of the hospitals but rather to a change in the organism itself^'' the physician added.
Dr. Eichenwald, who is professor ■ ol pediatrics at Cornell university medical college, said ''every 15 or 20 years the 'staph' germ undergoes a change."
"It's much   the   same   as   the
change which occurs at intervals in polio and hepatitis," he said. 'No one knows why this happens. But it does occur with every pathogenic organism. You see this during flu epidemics."
Dr. Eichenwald said staphylococci outbreaks will diminish in he next few years but that hepa-its will continue to zoom.
"I think hepatitis will reach its ?eak next year, then diminish," tie added. "It's like the stock mar* ket."
The pediatrician said New York lospital, whicji is affiliated with the Cornell university medical college, has been in operation since 1772.
"Their records go back through the years," he said. "When we checked these records we discovered regular cycles of certain diseases."
Dr. Eichenwald said even though the present "staph" outbreaks can't be laid at the door of hospital carelessness, a physician should do all he can to protect his hospital patient from the staphlococci germ.
"Patients identified as carriers of the disease-causing staph germ should be isolated," he said. "And, since outbreaks have been prevalent in hospital nurseries/ care should be taken to protect the babies. The nurseries should have fewer cribs and these cribs shouldvhave a lot of air space between them. Ventilation should be such that the dirty air is removed at regular intervals and replaced by clean air. Infants of the same age should be placed together in units."
Another convention speaker Wednesday advocated use of diuretics to control premenstrual tension and the abnormal swelling some women experience during pregnancy.
Dr. Frederick Zuspan said as a result of premenstrual tension some young females get poor grades in school; that some mothers are inclined to scream at their children; that a high rate of violent crimes, including suicide, can be traced to women experiencing this tension.
"Diuretics help control this problem," Dr. Zuspan said. "They are also often a life-saver to women who suffer from abnor-
mal swelling during pregnancy. Untreated, such swelling could go into toxemia and result in death."
He said it's up to the clinician to select the proper diuretic agent.
"We are now in the throes of a race for diuretic supremacy," he said. "But this confusion in selecting a good diuretic agent need not cloud our thinking."
Dr. Zuspan said before a doctor can proper!./ evaluate a diuretic, he should know what effect bed rest and a low salt diet has on his patient.
"If the patient fares no better on the diuretic than he did on bed rest and low salt diet, then the value of the diuretic is questionable," he added.
The obstetrician, who is chairman of obstetrics and gynecolo-gy at the Medical College of Georgia, said parents who are happy over the   prospect   of   having   a
baby   should   be   encouraged   to participate more in childbirth.
Dr. Zuspan said parents have more positive feelings towards the newborn child if the mother is conscious during birth and the father is on hand to give her moral support. He said when he was on the staff of Western Reserve University hospital in Geveland this practice was followed.
"In natural childbirth," he said, "both parents must attend classes to prepare themselves educationally. The mother is taught relaxation and proper breathing to make the birth easier. If the wife is under total anesthesia there is no particular point for the the husband to be in the delivery room. And it's foolhardy for him to be there if his wife doesn't want him there pr if he doesn't wish it. Of course the husband in the delivery room doesn't actually witness the operation. He merely holds his wife's hand and, offers moral support."