Evening star., 1953-10-29
Tendency 10 Think
OF Antibiotics as
'Cure-AIIs' Hit

While emphasizing caution in
the use of antibiotics. specialists
in the field of wonder drugs"
yesterday dropped hints suggest
ing this relatively new type OF
medicine may be getting out OF
hand.
The specialists are attending
a symposium here on antibiotics
sponsored by the Food and Drug
Administration.
It's an undeniable fact, one
doctor said, that most OF the
antibiotics gobbled up by the
public today are prescribed for
illnesses the drugs were not made
to cope with. He added that, In
most cases, it has never been
CLEARLY assessed" as to just what
kind of work is cut out for some
of the newer drugs.
Concerned with a Shotgun"
type of treatment is DR.. Maxwell
Finland of Harvard University.
He said doctors, when treating
mild infections, show tendency
to give their patients relatively
harmless drugs, rather than
those of proved superiority"
Take Easier Course.
And when any one antibiotic
is used freely over long periods
without doing any good, DR.. Fin
land said, some doctors seem to
find it easier "to shift to a new
one" rather than take the time
to find the right drug for the
particular illness.
He said the use Of combined
therapy--the use OF a comblna-
ton of drugs-has reached the
point where it is not unusual to
find a patient who has been run
ming a fever for several days and
already has been given anywhere
from four to seven drugs-one on
top of the other,
DR.. Finland advised doctors In
practice to fix a critical eye on
the "overwhelmi. g mass OF COM
mercial literature and perSua-
sive advertising" Of drugs he's
bombarded with He said each
product emphasizes the glaring
faults of the competing product.
while skimming over its own
faults.
1.-THE busy practitioner" DR..
Finland said, "is particularly
desirous of having some major
weapon on which he can always
rely to be successful in all types
of infections. and which would
thus relieve him Of the response
bility and trouble involved in
the complicated or even simple
diagnostic procedures"
The doctor said too many
"cure-alls" are indiscriminately
used.
Penicillin Sometimes Fatal.
DR.. Perrin H. Long of the State
University of New York, spoke
on the sometimes fatal reaction
caused by penicillin. He stressed
these deaths are few and not
serious. when compared to the
overall picture of the use of pen
icillin.
He warned that penicillin
should not be given to persons
who have had previous reactions
to the drug. He said every doctor
should question patients on this
point.
DR.. Harry Bowling of the Uni
versity of Illinois and a former
Washington doctor spoke on the
problem of germs that become
resistant to certain drugs.
He said strains of bacteria
resistant to an antibiotic "are
appearing with increasing fire.
quency."
1t became a public health
problem in that the resistant
germ can be spread from one
person to another.
DR.. Bowling said the spread
of resistant strains of germs can
be prevented by the use of proper
isolation techniques - particu-
larly in a hospital where the
disease is being treated.
Also Urges Limitation.
The control of this problem,
according to DR.. Dowling, seems
to lie in the manufacture of
more antibiotics. He, too, said