La investigación antigua de la fiebre puerperal: galimatías científico y objeto de reflexión

Abstract

Esta revisión versa sobre las primeras investigaciones acerca de una de las enfermedades sobresalientes en la historia de la medicina: la fiebre puerperal, asesina de parturientas entre los siglos XVII y XIX. Aborda la controversia en torno a su naturaleza fisiológica y contagiosidad, y analiza, desde diversas perspectivas, el rechazo a que fue sometido el doctor Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis, descubridor de su modo de transmisión. Finalmente, hace alusión a la validación de sus resultados y conclusiones mediante análisis estadísticos modernos así como a la interpretación filosófica de su modelo de descubrimiento y de inferencia.

Using Historical Scientific Controversies to Promote Undergraduates’ Argumentation

“…The situation becomes even more complicated because the treatise of over 500 pages contains passages of great clarity interspersed with lengthy, muddled, repetitive, and bellicose passages in which he attacks his critics. In line with this focus on the relevance of communication to scientific progress, Dunn (2005), Gillies (2005), Lerner (2014), Stewardson andPittet (2011), andVolcy (2012), among others, agree that in part, Semmelweis's failure to achieve recognition for his contribution was due to his own failure to publicize his findings.…”

“…Consequently, as a Hungarian belonging to a German-speaking ethnic minority in Vienna, Semmelweis was an ardent believer in wishing to see Hungary emerge from its second-class status. In this respect, some authors (e.g., Dunn 2005;Gillies 2005;Henao 1999;Stewardson and Pittet 2011;Volcy 2012) believe that critics did not evaluate Semmelweis's evidence fairly. In other words, they were biased because of his nationality.…”

“…Accordingly, this would explain why Semmelweis's advice met a lot of resistance from his colleagues (Adriaanse et al 2000). Also, Stewardson and Pittet (2011) and Volcy (2012) stress that washing medical personnel's hands the right way in calcium chloride was a time-consuming activity (an interminable 5 min) which caused much irritation to the hands. For this reason, they consider that this was unpopular advice for such busy people as Semmelweis's fellow physicians.…”

“…For this reason, they consider that this was unpopular advice for such busy people as Semmelweis's fellow physicians. Volcy (2012) asserts that a pedagogic campaign led by Semmelweis would have helped attendants set aside their dominant position in obstetrics and become aware of the importance of disinfecting their hands with a calcium chlorine solution before examining women in labor.…”

“…The fourth and last possible reason for Semmelweis's failure concerns the fact that Semmelweis's views clashed with the dominant paradigm of his day: the miasma and contagion theories (Gillies 2005;Hernández Botero 2010;Persson 2009;Volcy 2012). Although eminently rational and reasonable, Semmelweis' discovery directly confronted the beliefs of science and medicine in his time (Ataman et al 2013;Hernández Botero and Florián Pérez 2012;Kadar 2019).…”