THE BACTERICIDAL ACTION OF PENICILLIN IN VIVO: THE PARTICIPATION OF THE HOST, AND THE SLOW RECOVERY OF THE SURVIVING ORGANISMS
Authors: H EAGLE, R FLEISCHMAN, A D MUSSELMAN
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1950)

Article1 September 1950THE BACTERICIDAL ACTION OF PENICILLIN IN VIVO: THE PARTICIPATION OF THE HOST, AND THE SLOW RECOVERY OF THE SURVIVING ORGANISMSHARRY EAGLE, M.D., RALPH FLEISCHMAN, ARLYNE D. MUSSELMANHARRY EAGLE, M.D., RALPH FLEISCHMAN, ARLYNE D. MUSSELMANAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-33-3-544 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAlthough penicillin is known to be actively bactericidal, there is reason to believe that its therapeutic activity is not determined solely by that direct bactericidal action, and that other factors may supervene in vivo. Thus, Jawetz6found that, in a mouse streptococcal infection bacteria continued to die long after penicillin in demonstrable amounts had disappeared from the serum; and clinical experience has established the fact that penicillin is effective even when given so infrequently that for a considerable period between injections it is not present in bactericidal concentrations.11, 12, 13, 14These observations would seem to minimize the importance of...Bibliography1. ParkerMarsh RFHC: The action of penicillin on staphylococcus, J. Bact. 51: 181, 1946. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. ParkerLuse RFS: The action of penicillin on staphylococcus: further observations on the effect of a short exposure, J. Bact. 56: 75, 1948. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. EagleMusselman HAD: The slow recovery of bacteria from the toxic effects of penicillin, J. Bact. 58: 475, 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. 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CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. EagleFleischmanMusselman HRAD: The serum concentration of penicillin G in mice, rabbits, and men after its intramuscular injection in aqueous solution, J. Bact. 57: 119, 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. EagleMusselman HAD: The rate of bactericidal action of penicillin in vitro as a function of its concentration, and its paradoxically reduced activity at high concentrations against certain organisms, J. Exper. Med. 88: 99, 1948. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. TillettMcCormackCambier WSJEMJ: The use of penicillin in the local treatment of pneumococcal empyema, J. Clin. Investigation 24: 595, 1945. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. TumultyZubrod PAG: Pneumococcal pneumonia treated with aqueous penicillin at twelve-hour intervals, New England J. Med. 239: 1033, 1948. Price, A. H.: Aqueous penicillin therapy for pneumococcic pneumonia. Injections at twelve-hour intervals, J. A. M. A. 138: 292, 1948. Hamburger, M., Berman, J. R., Thompson, R. T., and Blankenhorn, M. A.: The treatment of pneumococcal pneumonia by penicillin in aqueous solution at long intervals, J. Lab. and Clin. Med. 34: 59, 1949. Altemeier, W. A.: Penicillin therapy with prolonged interval dosage schedules, Ann. Surg. 128: 708, 1948. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. Wheatley DP: Massive penicillin doses in general practice, Brit. M. J. 1: 530, 1947. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. TompsettTimpanelliGoldsteinMcDermott RAOW: Discontinuous therapy with penicillin, J. A. M. A. 139: 555, 1949. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. EagleMagnuson HHJ: Effect of the method of administration on the therapeutic efficacy of sodium penicillin in experimental syphilis, Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. 79: 168, 1946. MedlineGoogle Scholar16. Eagle H: Speculations as to the therapeutic significance of the penicillin blood level, Ann. Int. Med. 28: 260, 1948. LinkGoogle Scholar17. Altemeier WA: Penicillin therapy with prolonged interval dosage schedules, Proc. Am. Surg. Assn., p. 388, 1948, J. B. Lippincott Co. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: *Received for publication March 31, 1950.From the Section on Experimental Therapeutics, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 14, Maryland. 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Penicillin and StreptomycinExperimental approach to the problem of treatment failure with penicillinXVII The Use of Antibiotics in Otolaryngology 1 September 1950Volume 33, Issue 3Page: 544-571KeywordsBacteriaInfectious diseasesPenicillinResearch laboratoriesStreptococcal infections Issue Published: 1 September 1950 PDF downloadLoading ...