A preliminary report on 120 cases of tuberculosis treated with the Friedmann vaccine / by Harry Lee Barnes.

  • Barnes, Harry Lee, 1877-
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A preliminary report on 120 cases of tuberculosis treated with the Friedmann vaccine / by Harry Lee Barnes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    and absorption therefrom, and not the number of injections, on which the improvement depends. In his paper Friedmann claimed that improve- ment in pulmonary cases began almost immediately after the first injec- tion. To quote: “The first symptom which regularly disappears soon after the first injection * * * is the tormenting night sweats,” and, “Progressive emaciation also ceases soon after the beginning of the treatment,” etc., etc. Similar statements in regard to the rapidity of improvement after the first injection were made by Heymann, karfunkel and Goldberg, and finally Friedmann himself claimed that many of these patients here reported on had improved as a result of the vaccine when he saw them 50 days after the first injection. We are to-day in just as good a position to judge whether these patients made a remark- able temporary improvement as we ever shall be. Selection of Patients. Before accepting patients, Dr. Fried- mann took a brief history, laying emphasis on blood spitting, even the slightest trace, on chest pains and on night sweats. He examined only one case, but he examined our charts, in which the results of examina- tions are shown. He stated his intention to make selection from all classes of cases. Only two of the bed patients were treated on Dr. Fried- mann’s visits, because we had directed them to come last, and there was not time to treat all. However, he selected several cases after he had been informed that cavity signs were present. As no healthy persons were inoculated no evidence can be offered as to whether or not the vaccine can prevent tuberculosis in those who are free from it. The Vaccine. Smears taken from eight abscesses at the site of in- jection all showed great numbers of bacilli, somewhat shorter than the average human tubercle bacillus and rarely beaded. Examination of these bacilli after they had been stained with carbol-fuchsin and subjected to absolute alcohol for 24 hours, showed that many of them were com- pletely decolorized, while others were not. When immersed in 25 per cent, nitric acid for an hour they took a methylene blue stain which pro- duced a purple color. Professor Frederic P. Gorham informs me that these bacilli have no acid fast properties during the first 24 hours. It would thus appear that these bacilli are not acid fast to the same degree as human tubercle bacilli. Dr. Mary E. Gaffney of the Sanatorium staff reports that when grown on blood serum at ordinary room temperature, the growth appeared on the 4th day as small, round, cream-white, glis- tening colonies which became flattened, wrinkled and serrated on the edges as they grew older. On glycerine agar at ordinary room tempera- ture there was a sign of growth within 24 hours and a well-developed