Sulphapyridine therapy in pneumonia in children

ABSTRACT

One hundred cases of pneumonia treated with sulphapyridine were investigated. There was one death (a case of broncho pneumonia seen on the 34th day of illness, organism Streptococcus viridans, with terminal vasomotor failure ) giving a mortality rate of 1 percent; the figure for the three previous years, without chemotherapy, was 13.6 percent. The reactions of the white cell count and blood sedimentation rate are shown. Clinical improvement occurred about eight hours after administration of the drug, which was well tolerated by the children. Resolution was complete, and recoveries were uniformly uneventful. A few cases displayed some sensitivity to the drug, and the indications are that some patients are hypersensitive to sulphapyridine; as this sensitivity is obvious from the outset ordinary care will prevent any catastrophe. The danger if the drug is not used under medical supervision is no less obvious. The comparatively short interval of administration made dietary restrictions easy and readily adaptable. There was a marked absence of toxic effects as a result of the administration of sulphapyridine (Summary)