Sulphonamides in the treatment of meningococcal meningitis : report to the Scientific Advisory Committee / [by the Infectious Diseases Sub-Committee].

  • Great Britain. Department of Health for Scotland. Scientific Advisory Committee on Medical Administration and Investigation. Infectious Diseases Sub-Committee.
Date:
1944
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sulphonamides in the treatment of meningococcal meningitis : report to the Scientific Advisory Committee / [by the Infectious Diseases Sub-Committee]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    FOREWORD. HE increase in the incidence of meningococcal meningitis during the early part of 1940 gave rise to some anxiety but it also gave an opportunity of appraising the efficacy of some of the new sulphonamide drugs in the treatment of this infection. These drugs had been dramatically successful in many infectious diseases, and even in meningococcal meningitis it was known that they effectively reduced the fatality rate. But new and improved forms of sulphonamide made their appearance in the therapeutic world in such rapid succession that it became difficult to keep abreast of the new discoveries or, at any rate, to test accurately their effects. The Memorandum of the Medical Research Council on the “‘ Use of Sulphonamides’”’ was a timely and authentic publication on the subject, for there is a general ‘feeling among experts that this form of they is in danger of being misused, even abused. This Report is an attempt to evaluate the relative efficiency of some of the best known members of the group in the treatment of menin- gococcal meningitis. Certain hospitals were chosen for the enquiry, and the Report includes an analysis of all the cases accepted by these hospitals from the 1st January 1936. Sulphonamide therapy had scarcely been applied before 1938 so that it is possible to compare results of treatment in the pre-sulphonamide days with those when sulphonamide treatment was available. It is hoped that the results of this enquiry will be helpful to those working in the same field and that they may possibly be of general guidance in the treatment of this dangerous infectious disease. a SOTITUTEN oe ye, OOO me ox) Our ol Cin ° Tana = | iS] en | | CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, meC | ‘DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR SCOTLAND. (3 N Pe eeran} pend ener tale Ci A ic cee ea if. ie 3 od NGA