FAILURE OF INTRAMUSCULAR TRYPSIN TO ALTER THE COURSE OF CERTAIN INFLAMMATORY DERMATOSES

The observed anti-inflammatory effects of parenteral trypsin as reported by numerous authors, including Innerfield and associates,¹ Laufman and Roach,² Fisher and Wilensky,³ Hopen and Campagna,⁴ and others, aroused interest in what effect this enzyme would have upon certain dermatoses characterized by a marked inflammatory component. Many of the previous studies of clinical response to trypsin had been based on both intravenous and intramuscular use of the drug. A review of the toxicity and side-effects of trypsin indicated this substance to have certain hazardous potentials and undesirable side-reactions when administered intravenously. Laufman and Roach² reported side-effects consisting of transitory chills, abdominal cramps, and local irritation and thrombophlebitis at the site of infusion. Innerfield and associates¹ noted transient facial flushing and a sense of warmth and local endophlebitis at the site of infusion. Wright,⁵ in a personal