THE IDEA of using procaine hydrochloride for the treatment of allergic conditions is not new. The drug has been used intravenously, with success in many cases, in the treatment of pruritus,1 status asthmaticus2 and serum sickness3 for several years. A recent paper4 briefly discusses the oral use of a procaine salt in the treatment of bronchial asthma in a person known to be sensitive to the drug when it is given parenterally. This communication is a preliminary report concerning the use of procaine hydrochloride with ascorbic acid by mouth in the treatment of various disorders, many of which have an allergic background.
The pertinent data on 10 cases are presented in the accompanying table. Three representative case records are given below.
REPORT OF CASES
Case 6.—
The patient was a white female nurse, aged 22, who sustained a laceration with a contusion of the left hand from