A STUDY OF ETHYLHYDROCUPREIN (OPTOCHIN) IN THE TREATMENT OF ACUTE LOBAR PNEUMONIA

• Historical.

• Scope of the problem and general considerations.

• Character of the cases and their general treatment.

• Technic employed ; interpretation of results.

• Dosage of optochin :

• Oral administration entirely. The various methods of dosage used ; comparison. Relationship between body weight of patient and appearance of bactericidal action in the serum.

• Combined intramuscular and oral administration.

• Absorption and elimination.

• Fastness.

• Toxic effects.

• Influence on the clinical course of the disease :

1. Occurrence of "spreads."

2. Pneumococcal septicemia.

3. Duration of the disease.

4. Mortality rate.

• Discussion.

• Conclusions.

HISTORICAL  The valuable studies of Morgenroth and his co-workers¹ on the chemotherapy of the quinin alkaloids have shown that ethylhydrocuprein (optochin) has a specific bactericidal effect on the pneumococcus in vitro, and that this compound exerts a protective and curative action in animals experimentally infected with virulent strains of that micro-organism. The specific germicidal action of ethylhydrocuprein on the pneumococcus