No abstract

were confirmed. However, in the restored serum with the drug there was rapid multiplication of this bacterium in the presence of the drug.B. subtilis grew in both the plasma and the serum at 37 and 22 C. but at 6 C. it could not be recovered from the tubes with or without the drug after the third day. The tube of plasma plus the drug at 37 C. was lost after the third day of culturing, and another tube was set up with plasma of the same lot but from another bottle. Bacteria could not be recovered from this tube, while in the control tube there was luxuriant growth. With Str. bovis in the plasma there was not the slightest indi¬ cation of bacteriostasis ; in fact there was some indication that the drug acted as a stimulant. Str. viridans did not multiply in the restored serum with or without the drug but it was recovered in equal number from serum containing the drug and from the control tubes over the same time interval.An additional experiment was made with pooled citrated blood.Concentrations of 0.02 and 0.2 per cent sodium sulfathiazole were used. The bacteria added were Staph. aureus and Str. bovis used in the preceding experiments and a Staphylococcus albus isolated two days previously from human skin. The inocu¬ lated tubes were held at S C. and cultured at different intervals up to seventy-two hours. At no time was there any significant difference in the number of bacteria recovered from the blood containing either amount of the drug as compared with the number from the blood containing no drug. The results obtained when 0.2 per cent of the drug was used are given in table 3.Dr. Pittman's report is not intended as a complete study of bacteriostatic or bactericidal influence of the sulfonamide drugs when dissolved in normal human plasma. However, using' five different species of bacteria and one lot of pooled plasma and one of serum, and after exposing the bacteria to the drug-treated plasma or serum at three different temperature levels, and cul¬ turing three times during a period of approximately thirty days, she was unable to find any evidence that 0.2 per cent sodium sulfathiazole had an inhibiting effect to a degree to be of signifi¬ cance when used in processing plasma or serum. Since this study was undertaken, Heath and Province (The Journal, March 28, p. 1034) have reported their observations, which con¬ firm Pittman's results.This study was repeated with whole blood in order to ascertain whether the action of sodium sulfathiazole would be different in the presence of the cellular elements of the blood.Here again the drug failed to exert any retarding action on the bacteria used and under the conditions of the test as described by Dr. Pittman.It is regrettable that Dr. Novak should hold (paragraph 2 of his conclusions) that the addition of 0.2 per cent sodium sulfathiazole to the bleeding bottle is justification for indifferent technic in drawing blood or in recovering the plasma. Up until now there is no known acceptable bactericidal agent which will accomplish this. On the other hand, qualified tec...

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract