Cerebrospinal Fever and Sulphonamides

Abstract

Many articles have appeared within the past five years showing that sulphonamide therapy has effected a considerable reduction in the number of fatalities due to cerebrospinal fever. These reports, most of which are based on groups of less than a hundred cases, are not in agreement on certain matters, such as the sulphonamide compound of choice, its proper dosage, and the value of serum as an adjuvant to chemotherapy. Such differences in experience with cerebrospinal fever are to be expected, since the disease is notoriously variable in severity and in its effect on persons of different ages. In the present communication an attempt is made to obtain information on some of the points in question by means of an analysis of a large number of case reports.

Meningococcal meningitis complicated by pericarditis, panophthalmitis, and arthritis.

“…The case presented here is of interest in that the meningitis was asso-Pericardial, Y7int, and Eye Manifestations of Meningococcal Infection Beeson andWesterman (1943) Banks (1948) .. Koch and Carson (1958) .. Harries (1942) Kaufman, et al (1951) Total Penny and his colleagues (1966), reviewing the world literature on meningococcal pericarditis, noted that of the 50 reported cases only 15 had occurred since the advent of the sulphonamides in 1937. Pericarditis and myocarditis can, in fact, occur as allergic phenomena in sulphonamide therapy (Waring and Weinstein, 1946).…”

Effect of Chemotherapy on Pneumonia Mortality

“…The study of natural resistance has been neglected mainly because our present picture of acute infections lays so much emphasis upon the bacterial cause and the specific immune reactions to which it gives rise in the host. The failure of specific antisera and vaccines to enhance the effect of the sulphonamides in pneumonia-and perhaps in cerebrospinal fever (Beeson and Westerman, 1943)-suggests that those who now die do not die because of any lack of specific antibody. It may be advanced that knowledge of what will increase non-specific or tissue resistance is required if the results of.…”