A FURTHER STUDY OF THE BACTERICIDAL ACTION OF ETHYLHYDROCUPREIN ON PNEUMOCOCCI

Abstract

1. The serum of rabbits which have been previously treated with a single dose of ethylhydrocuprein (optochin) exerts a bactericidal action on, and, later, inhibits the growth of pneumococci in the test-tube. 2. These actions are most evident in the serum of rabbits when the base (optochin base) is given in oil subcutaneously; somewhat less when the hydrochloride of the drug is given in water subcutaneously; slight when the base is given in oil intramuscularly; and least evident, or absent, when the hydrochloride in water is introduced directly into the stomach. To get these effects by the intravenous route, toxic doses must be given, and, even with toxic non-fatal doses, the effects do not last long. 3. In the case of the base given in oil subcutaneously to rabbits in a dosage of 0.1 gram per kilo of body weight, the bactericidal action of the serum is at its maximum about one hour after administration, and it passes into an inhibitory effect about four hours after the drug has been given. 4. In man the same inhibitory and bactericidal actions of the serum are present when a single dose of 0.5 gram of the hydrochloride of the drug is given by the mouth or subcutaneously, but the bactericidal action is not so marked as in rabbits. 5. When the optochin concentration in the serum has, apparently,. diminished to a certain point in relation to the number of pneumococci present, the pneumococci which have survived the bactericidal action for a few hours acquire the power of growing freely.