Dora Colebrook
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Dora Colebrook (1884-1965) was a doctor and bacteriologist. Her research into the efficacy of light therapy[1] and the epidemiology of puerperal sepsis[2] provided the first evidence-based evaluations of these subjects.
Personal Life
Colebrook was the youngest daughter of May (1838 – 1896) and Mary Colebrook (nee Gower, 1845 -) with three brothers and sisters, and seven half-siblings from her father’s first marriage. The family lived in Guildford, Surrey until her father died in 1896 when they moved to Bournemouth.[3]
Education
Colebrook studied at the Royal Free Hospital in London, gaining her M.B. in 1915 and then gained M.D. from London University in 1919.[1] She also gained a Diploma in Bacteriology. [4]
Career
She worked initially at the Jessop Hospital in Sheffield as a gynaecologist, then moved to Cambridge in general practice. She then moved to the North Islington Infant Welfare Centre in London. Her career then re-focused on research.
She was appointed as the secretary to the Medical Research Council’s Clinical and Biological Sub-Committee to the Committee on the Biological Actions of Light after an introduction from her brother, the bacteriologist Leonard Colebrook. At that time, light therapy from white or ultraviolet light, was becoming increasing popular for an increasing range of conditions. Her research focused on two areas where it was considered to be effective, namely therapy for varicose ulcers and of generically 'sickly' children. A study of 85 patients, comparing light therapy with conventional paste and dressings, indicated that the latter gave a much better outcome.[5] [6]Her second study, of 287 infant school children, despite some problems with the experimental design, also did not demonstrate a beneficial effect of light therapy. The study compared three treatments namely with UV light therapy, a treatment where the UV light was screened from the children using glass, and a control of no light therapy.[7] In a later randomised controlled trial of coalminers, office and factory workers, she was again unable to show a clear benefit of light therapy. [8]
Her initial findings about light therapy were controversial since the medical consensus in 1920s held that the well-established light therapy was effective.[6]
Colebrook worked with her brother on the epidemiology of puerperal sepsis at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London. She investigated the source of the streptococcal infections within the hospital. After collecting samples of the bacteria from patients, their families and hospital staff, she used immunology to identify individual strains. This showed that the strains causing puerperal sepsis were not special but were the same ones present in the community that caused sore throats. They were acquired by women after childbirth rather than before.[2] [4]Working together, the Colebrooks showed that streptococci were more likely to originate from hospital staff than from the patient.[9]
References
- ^ a b Edwards, Martin. "Dora Colebrook and the evaluation of light therapy". The James Lind Library. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Minervation Ltd. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ a b Wong, Sam (4 February 2017). "Sibling saviours of the maternity ward". New Scientist: 40–41. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Oakley, C. L. (1971). "Leonard Colebrook 1883-1967". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 17: 90. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1971.0004. PMID 11615432.
- ^ a b Colebrook, Dora C (1935). The source of infection in puerperal fever due to haemolytic streptococci. London: Medical Research Council, Special Report Series No. 205, His Majesty's Stationary Office. pp. 1–98. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Colebrook, Dora (1928). "Varicose ulcers: a comparison of treatment by ultra-violet light and Unna's Paste dressings". The Lancet. 1: 904–7.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b "Reports of Societies". British Medical Journal. 1 (3603): 150–153. 1930. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Colebrook, Dora (1929). Irradiation and health. HMSO. p. 12. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Colebrook, Dora (1946). Artificial sunlight treatment in industry. MRC Industrial Health Research Board Report No. 89. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Graham Ayliffe and Mary English (2003). Hospital Infection from Miasmas to MRSA. Cambridge University Press. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-0-521-53178-8. Retrieved 2009-08-05.