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Ten years have now elapsed since arsphenamin (salvarsan) was first introduced by Paul Erlich and his associates, and during that space of time many thousands of doses of this remedy have been administered. Almost from the beginning and extending to the present, untoward symptoms have been noted following the intravenous administration of arsphenamin. Many hypotheses have been advanced to explain these reactions, but as yet no method has been suggested which would eliminate these untoward reactions.
In this study, arsphenamin (Dermatological Research Laboratory) of the same serial number was administered to both syphilitic and nonsyphilitic patients, and the reactions following their intravenous administration were noted. It was believed that a study of this nature might throw some light on the possible cause or causes of these untoward symptoms.
SYMPTOMS IN SYPHILITIC AND NONSYPHILITIC PATIENTS
The reactions following the intravenous administration of arsphenamin are classified into: (1) immediate, (2) early, and