Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-01-23
FORMALIN'S new USE.
Successfully Tested In a Case
Of Blood Poisoning.
DISCOVERY OF DIR. O. O. BARRows

He Saved . Dying Woman by In
jectins q Solution of the Antiseptio
Into Her vsins-There was An Inn
perature Marked 1os.
What is regarded by many physi-
medical discoveries Of the day has
been made by DR.. Charles g. Barrows,
a gynecologist, who is one of the visit
ing physicians to Bellevue hospital, In
New York, and has been connected
with that institution for sixteen years.
Revolutionizing the method Of treat
ing blood poison. DR.. Barrows' specific
for such it may Defends to rob that
disease of its terrors and, some men,
bers of the medical fraternity believe,
will prove most valuable in other NAL
aides that usually have a fatal result,
says the New York Herald. The one
patient whom DR.. Barrows has treated
by his new method was at the point Of
death when he was called in. Now she
Is practically well.
BY destroying the bacteria that ere
ate blood poisoning does DR.. Barrows
battle the disease. To do this he es-
| chews the use of medicines and injects
into the patients veins a weakened So
luton of what is known as formalin.
This is a 40 per cent solution of for
maldehyde gas in water. This gas,
which is an oxidation of methyl alco-
hol, has strong germicidal qualities, be-
ing stronger than carbolic acid and
only slightly inferior to corrosive sub
Innate. Formalin, its solution in wa
ter, is a powerful antiseptic and is fire.
quently applied outwardly in surgery.
For years it has been used as a pre-
servative for food products.
In his observation of the many cases
of blood poisoning which came under
his notice DIR. Barrows arrived at the
conclusion it was absolutely necessary
to destroy the bacteria If the disease
was to be fought successfully. In his
search for an agent by which the end
might be gained he thought Of for
malin, and careful study convinced
him 1t might be employed efficaciously,
with no harm to the patient.
He found his first opportunity Of put
ting his theory to the test In Bellevue
hospital. Alice Bentley, negress,
twenty-six years old, was taken to the
institution on Christmas day suffering
from blood poisoning. She had fallen
downstairs month before, injuring
herself severely. When she entered
the hospital, her temperature was 104.3
degrees and her pulse was 124. After
the birth Of baby she had severe
chill, and her temperature was 1O5 de-
grees. She was transferred to the
genealogical ward and her tempera-
ture increased to 1868 degrees. She
became worse daily, and when DR..
Barrows was called in, on Jan. 2, she
seemed to be at the point Of death. She
was semicomatose and was muttering
incoherently. Her respiration was rap
i'd and labored, her pulse ranged from
100 to 160 and her temperature was
10S degrees. Never had a person in
such a condition been known to re-
cover.
1t was reported to DR.. Barrows that
on Dec. 80 small portion Of the pa
TENTS blood had been drawn from her
arm and that DIR. Buxton, a bacteriol-
ogist connected with the Cornell Med
ical college, had made q culture, which
showed the presence of the virulent
bacteria of septicamia, or streptococci.
She had blood poisoning In its most
virulent form. Into one Of the large
30 hn -irh nr DO
tried to inject one liter Of formalin So
luton, of the strength of one part Of
formalin to 5000 parts Of water, but
the woman's delirium and restlessness
made this a difficult operation and q
small quantity Of the formalln was
lost, about 500 centimeters Of the So
luton finding Its way into the circula-
ton.
The result was such as to make the
physicians marvel. The temperature
fell almost Immediately, and the pulse
showed an instantaneous improvement.
| This continued, and at 0 o'clock the
next morning, sixteen hours after the
injection, the temperature was 101 de-
grees instead Of 108, and the pulse had
| fallen from 100 to 104. But as the day
passed the temperature rose to 1924
degrees and then fell again until 1t was
only 95., The next day the patient,
whose general condition had improved,
had relapse, and her temperature re-
corded 103 degrees.
The day after the injection another
blood culture was made, and 1t was
found that none of the bacteria was
present. Thus encouraged, DR.. Bar
rows made another injection Of the
formalin into the woman's left arm,
this time of 75O cubic centimeters.
Again the temperature fell to the nor
NAL, and at no time thereafter did 1t
vary materially. Two days after this
another blood culture was made, and
the bacteria were absent. The woman
became convalescent rapidly. and now
she Is well.