Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-01-22
Treatment of Blood POISONING.


City, has recently made discovery in
the treatment of blood poisoning,
which is attracting the attention of
the profession all over the country, and
bids fair to rank as one of the most
important contributions to medical
science of the present generation. DR..
Barrows experiments were made upon
a public patient who was admitted to
ward 90 in Bellevue hospital on Dec. 20.
The patient was negro woman of
slight stature. She had given, birth to
"a child before her admission to the
hospital. Blood poisoning bad already
set in. The woman was admitted to
the institution eight days after the
birth of the child. Her temperature
was 1O4 $40 degrees when admitted,
and her pulse was correspondingly
high. Local surgical measures were
employed to counteract the ravages of
the disease, and both temperature and
pulse dropped for a few hours. The
temperature, however, quickly mounted
to 105, 106 and then to 107 degrees.
DIR. Barrows then had small portion
of blood drawn from the woman's arm
and culture was made in broth in
a glass tube. This was examined by
DIR. Buxton, bacteriologist of Cornell
Medical College. The culture was
found to be loaded with the virulent
bacteria of septicaemia The woman
and a pulse of 100. Never in the his
tory of the medical profession was
patient known to recover from this
disease with such a rise of pulse and
temperature.
DR.. Barrows resolved to try the most
radical measures for the woman's re-
lief. DR.. Buxton, Professor Ewing and
other eminent physicians believed her
to be diving. DR.. Barrows injected into
one of the large veins of her right arm
500 cubic centimetres of formalin,
which is forty per cent of ordinary
commercial formaldehyde gas in wa
ter. The effect was almost instantane-
GUS The woman was, at the time of
this injection, almost in state of
collapse. She was ashen in color and
her lips were seen to move in the low
muttering delirium which usually pre-
cedes death in such cases. Her pulse
was barely perceptible. The effects of
the formalin were almost magical. The
strength of the solution was 15000
BY the next day the temperature had
dropped to 101 degrees, with a CORE
spending drop in the pulse rate. On
perature went up to 102 degrees, and
on the next day to 103 degrees.
A second blood culture was made
and disclosed the fact that although
strertococci We're still present, they
were there in vastly diminished guam
| titles. DIR. Barrows then made a sec
ond injection. This time the liquid
was forced into the veins of the wom-
mans left arm, and the amount was
1856 cubic centimetres The tempera-
| ture dropped to the normal in a few
hours, and the pulse to eighty-siX beats
blood culture showed that no germs
existed. The woman's pulse and tenn
perature have now been normal for
ten days, and she is practically well.
No untoward results followed this ex-
permental employment of a drug
which had hitherto been unused in this
manner. While it was but reasonable
to suppose that some local manifesto
lions would arise none has developed.
A series of experiments is now being
made upon animals to determine
whether or not formalin produces any
poisonous effects when injected into
the normal blood
The Importance of this discovery
can scarcely be overestimated. If it
should prove the success in general
practice, that it apparently was in this
specific case, it's powers for good are
almost beyond comprehension. 1t is
even possible that such a discovery
might have saved the life of President
Mckinley, had it been known to the.
profession, at the time he lay upon
his death bed in the Milburn resi-
dence at Buffalo.
Hays Tribute to the President.