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Article
November 1939

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE LUNGS OF DRUG ADDICTS

Author Affiliations

NEW YORK

From the Department of Roentgenology and the Department of Correction, the Riker's Island Hospital, Dr. Milton A. Bridges, Medical Director.

Arch Intern Med (Chic). 1939;64(5):1039-1052. doi:10.1001/archinte.1939.00190050145010
Abstract

In reviewing thoracic roentgenograms taken routinely of several thousand drug addicts admitted to the Riker's Island Hospital in the past few years, a number of varied and interesting findings were noticed. These, as will be shown later, appeared to be entirely at variance with the patients' complaints and their clinical course. They also varied in intensity almost directly with the period during which the drugs had been used.

The addicts were subjected to a six day reduction regimen immediately on their admission to the hospital. Roentgen examination of almost all of them was done on the fourth or fifth day after the commencement of the period of withdrawal of the drug. This usually corresponds to the time in which symptoms due to withdrawal begin to wane and the patient feels comparatively comfortable. Roentgen examination of a few was done during the height of these symptoms, which occurs usually on the

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