The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-26
TESTS OF AMBRINE
BEING MADE HERE
Capital Physicians Watching
Experiments With Dressing
for Burn Wounds.
USED IN THE FRENCH ARMY
Tried at Emergency Hospital on
Two Patients, But Results
. Cannot Yet Be Told.

Experiment being made at Emer-
gency Hospital with ambrine, the dress
ing for burn wounds brought from
France by Miss Elsie deWolfe. are being
closely watched by the Washington med
ical fraternity.
Although physicians are inclined to be-
lieve that the amount of the dressing
on hand will not be sufficient to give
results warranting an Endorsement OF
it,. they believe that a fair test OF its
efficacy may be made, and that the ex-
pertinent will Justify decision as to
further use in this country.
The dressing was applied last week
TO two patients. a man and a boy, both
of whom were suffering from burns on
the face and shoulders. 1t is too early
yet, physicians state. to decide what
the effects Of the treatment are. How
ever, they state that the dressing al
ready has shown two excellent qualities
those OF non-adhesiveness and avail
ability Of. painless application.
Looking Up Its History.
Washington physicians have been
digging industriously into the history of
ambrine and Of its use in the French
army hospitals. Officials Of the Public
Health Service have unearthed several
articles on the remedy in the British
Medical Journal The medical publica-
lions Of the United States have. thus
far, given little or no recognition to the
dressing.
According to the English magazine,
the idea OF a paraffin base for a burn
wound. DRESSING 70 have occurred
independently to several persons. AS
early as 1854 a Lawson, TAFT wrote an
article describing the using Of a paraffin
on burns He applied the melted sub
stance with q painters brush.
In 1895 Prof. Peters. of Toronto. de-
scribed his method Of spraying hot par
sffin on burn wounds.
DR.. Bar;he de Sandfort. in 1902. con-
ceived the idea OF ambrine. paraffin i'm
pregnsted with what he termed sue
cinti." translated by British medical
men into oleum succini, or oil Of amber.
hence the name. Oil Of amber has been
used generally in combination with olive
oil, as an external application in the
treatment OF rheumatism
Reported Results To Academy.
DIR. Sandfort, after eleven years of
experiment in private practice, finally re-
ported the results OF his work to the
Academic de Medicine about the time
the war broke out. He stated that the
oil OF amber gives the substance greater
toughneSs and ductility.
The Paris correspondent OF the Brit
ish Medical Journal in the September
2 number gives an interesting account Of
the use of ambrine IN a French aux
Hilary military hospital at Issy.
This hospital" he writes. lis the
only one in which the ambrine treat
ment is given on a large scale. OF the
500 beds. eighty are devoted TO this
work. The treatment is under the direc-
ton of DR.. Sandfort. although perform
ed by ordinary military surgeons.
Although the exact composition of
ambrine has not been made public by
DIR. Ssndfort, it is OF little Importance.
as everything points to the conclusion
that any paraffin wax Of the same melt
ing point and degree Of ductility would
have precisely the same effect.
Not Treatment, But Dressing.
strictly speaking, it is not a treat
ment, but a dressing. 1t is applied
in the following manner:
The wax is reduced to the con-
sistency of water by heating over a
spirit lamp to so degrees Centigrade:
il is then sprayed on the burn wound,
forming a delicate screen OF wax. 4
second coating is then put on with a
brush, the two layers being made TO
the thickness of ordinary bIotting pa
per. Over this is placed a thin layer
OF absorbent cotton"
The Journal correspondent states
that when the time comes to remove
the dressing, a corner OF il is raised,
and The whole dressing, wax pellicule
and cotton included, is gently rolled
off. 1t comes away without difficulty.
The changes in dressing are depend
emit entirely on the progress of the
Wound.
Treatment Is Painless.
The primary and quite incontest-
able advantages of the treatment"
says the correspondent. ARE two:
lit is agreeable to the patient be
cause entirely painless; it is conven-
lent to the surgeon because it is
easily and quickly applied. AS for re-
suits, prolonged study would be neces-
sary to determine how they compare
with the 'op-n' treatment recently IN
use in the navy, but they appear GER
tainly more satisfactory than those of
treatments hitherto used.
+All our other treatments cause
great deal OF pain, are slow in effect
ing a cure, and often leave scars. The
difference in result seems TO be that
in the paraffin treatment there is no
injury to the granular tissue or other
interference with nature'S own efforts
to bring about a cure"
Ambrine is described by one author
ity as violet-tinged, and by another as
"grayish black" not quite uniform in
color.