The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-03
A NEW AND TERRIBLE POISON.
Some Alarming Results of the Use of
Cocaine.

some Alarming Results of the Use of
Cocaine.
From the st. James Gazette.
Cocaine, as is now well known, is a very
valuable. but an exceedingly dangerous
drug, and M. Dufournier has lately pub
lished in the ArchiUes de Medicine the re-
markable results of his investigations into
its use. Cases where accidents have occurred
are very numerous, and there is hardly a
surgeon using cocaine who has not had
occasion to witness them. As early as 1887
DR.. Madison published the account of FORTY
such instances, and the roll of victims who
have lost their life from a dose of
cocaine has now reached as high as nine.
In large number cases it has given rise to
species Of poisoning. from which the patient
usually RECEIVERS. Among the phenomena
characterizing this form of poisoning one
observed in patient of DR.. E. Brady is
worthy Of special mention. This patient
was taken with facial paralysis, from which
he did not recover for six monts., Other
symptoms are Authorizations, great excite
ment and cerebral agitation; and, finally,
DIR. Leslie Calloghan, in one case, saw the
entire body covered by a scarlatiniform
rash.
DIR. Szunman, wishing to remove a large
wart situated at the base of the thumb of a
young girl Of 20, injected under the skin.
close to the wart, one cubic centimeter of a
one-in-ten solution of cocaine. The patient
felt no pain, but as the little wound was
being sewed together she suddenly lost her
color and tainted; her pulse became weak
and slow, and her hands and feet stiffened.
Water was dashed in her face, and she re-
covered consciousness, but she did not re-
gain at once her sense of feeling. as she
kept asking where her hands were By
this time the stitfening had extended to the
whole OF her person; but these alarming
symptoms quieted down little by little. and
by half an hours time they all came to a
happy end This case represents the mild
est form of cocaine poisoning. Between
this form and the cases in which death en-
sued come in series of severer forms. in
which the alarming symptoms lasted from
three hours to five or six days.
Br. BaratouX mentions the case of a
druggist, who, under the impression
that he was attacked by diphthe-
ria, sprayed his throat with a solution
OF cocaine; for seven or eight hours he
passed from one syncope to another, until
he finally succumbed. DR.. Abadie reports
another Casa woman of IL She received
a hypodermic injection of four cent?
grammes of cocaine in her lower eyelid be-
fore undergoing trivial operation in that
region. AT the close of the operation she
tainted, and her face became purple as in
asphyxia. In spite of the fact that arti-
fetal respiration was performed, and that
hypodermic injections of ether and caffeine
were made, and though the latter seemed
for moment to revive her, this I'M
fortunate woman died five hours after
ward.
Ii we endeavor to ascertain to what
cause to ascribe these different symptoms
and these cases of death, we note that the
most frequent is the use of too large q dose
of cocaine. The highest dose that can be
used without risk is, according to some.
three centigrammes; according to Others.
twenty centigrammes. Between these two
quantities, that are so wide apart, there is a
moderate dose that we can set as being from
i've to seven centigrammes. With this dose
1t may possibly happen that in some cases
total anasthemia will not be reached. but
IN the very larger number of cases no
alarming symptoms will be observed. Still.
1t Is prudent to refuse to give cocaine to
aged persons, TO highly nervous people, or
to such as are run down from any cause