Evening star., 1939-03-17
New Form of Miracle Druo'
Reduces Pneumonia Peril
Experiments at Johns Hopkins With
SuIfupyrdine Cut Death Toll

temperature was back to normal In
less than SO hours.
Better Records Expected.
With the more precise control
made possible by the new form q
much better record is expected next
winter unless the country is swept
by pneumonia Of exceptional viru-
lence. solubility resistance has been
one Of the great drawbacks In the
past with both sulfapyridine and
sulfanilamide. It was due to the
efforts to get the latter drug in q
soluble form for sale to the general
public that the notorious death
elixer" was produced in the South in
the fall Of 1887.
A new use for sulfanilamide itself,
which may save many infected arms
and legs which now must be ampu-
tated after gangrene sets in, was
urged on the surgeons by DR.. Long,
and surgeons present said that this
may make the drug one of the
greatest assets Of military medicine
in another war.
The drug should be given immedi-
ately in massive doses when q patient
is brought in with an injury caused
by crushing, a compound bone frac-
ture or an infected wound Of any
kind, DR.. Long stressed Loss of
limbs is usually made necessary by
the fact that the injury has become
infected with a bacteria known as
Welch's bacillus, which causes the
hitherto deadly gas gangrene. But
1t Is now known, DR.. Long declared,
that Of all micro-organisms this
bacillus is the most sensitive to sui
fanilamide. The drug, If given In
time. Is apt to prevent the gangrene
from starting and has been found to
stop 1t even after 1t has made con-
siderable headway.
Muscles Resume Normally.
Even where the bacillus infection
Is not present, DR.. Long said, expert
ence at Johns Hopkins indicates that
wounds heal more rapidly after
sulfanilamide has been given, but no
positive claims can be made for this
as yet. The Johns Hopkins surgeons
also have found. he said, that even
after muscle has become infected
with the dreaded gas bacillus 1t re-
gains its full function when the in
fection IS stopped.
DR.. Long told the surgeons to use
sulfanilamide freely and in massive
doses wherever it is required, since
the Johns Hopkins work has demon
strated that there is only one major
contra indication to its use-the
fact that pateient has been treated
with 1t before and has had q bad
reaction. One of the effects noted
with very heavy doses is that a pa
tient begins to turn blue, especially
when an anaesthetic is being ad-
ministered. This has scared some
surgeons, DR.. Long said, so that they
have stopped the anaesthetic. fear
ing that their patients were suffo-
eating from failure OF oxogen to
combine with the blood. Actually,
the Johns Hopkins professor
stressed, the coioring of the blood
blue is due to a blue dye In the
drug, harmless in itself.
A common fallacy, DR.. Long de-
clared, is to administer a great deal
OF liquid to a patient being treated
with sulfanilamide. This often re-
suits, he said, in washing the drug
out Of the system about as fast As
1t can be put in, so that it gets no
chance to do its work. So far as
present experiments have shown,
DR.. Long said, there is no reason not
to use any other drug in combina-
ton with sulfanilamide.