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Pellagra. Presented by Dr. Van Alstyne Cornell and Dr. Max Berkovsky.
The patient, a white man aged 53, a porter, homeless and an alcoholic addict, was admitted to the Metropolitan Hospital about one month ago. The hospital record shows that he has been admitted at irregular intervals since 1928 (July, 1928; March, July and November, 1929; May, June and September, 1932, and June, 1933). He had many complaints, involving the oral cavity, the gastrointestinal tract, the skin and the nervous system. Various diagnoses were made, such as eczema, alcoholic neuritis and cerebrospinal syphilis.The examination of the gastro-intestinal tract revealed severe and persistent diarrhea with occult blood in the stool. There was moderate stomatitis. The tongue was red, the papillae enlarged. The patient complained of marked burning of the tongue. On the backs of both hands there was a severe dermatitis extending for about an inch up on the backs