Her treatment for Crush Syndrome saved hundreds of people dug out from buildings damaged from The Blitz bombings during her time working as consultant surgeon at the South London Hospital for Women and Children.
[3] When German mass air attacks in London started in earnest from September 1940 there were several cases of civilians being extricated from ruined buildings without apparent external injury only for them to collapse and die a few days later.
[1][6] During World War II, Louden treated casualties including soldiers, pilots and civilians, describing Crush Syndrome and its treatment but she did not write up her work which meant her notable contribution was forgotten.
[3] In 1943, a Ministry of Health memo from Francis Fraser advised patients to drink large amounts of sodium bicarbonate to treat Crush Syndrome but the fluid solution was often administered too late.
[7] The patient's leg continued to swell, reaching its peak on the 11th and 12th days but because Louden administered the solution before the woman was excavated, she recovered and within a year her only remaining symptoms were some numbness and a loss of power.
[7] After the war it became recognised that renal failure might similarly be due to the manner in which the weight of the unconscious body had acted upon muscles, as was also the case in carbon monoxide poisoning.