PENICILLIN IN THE TREATMENT OF SUBACUTE BACTERIAL ENDOCARDITIS

Abstract

In June 1942 an intern at the Philadelphia General Hospital suffering with subacute bacterial endocarditis was treated unsuccessfully by us with penicillin. The total dosage was 225,000 units given over a period of seven days. Similar results with relatively small dosage were observed by others. Subsequent to these early reports, Loewe and his associates¹ and Dawson and Hobby² were successful in the treatment of this disease by employing larger amounts of penicillin over longer periods of time. Following these encouraging results the Committee on Medical Research began a more extensive study of the use of penicillin in this disease. and this report represents a part of that investigation. MATERIAL This paper deals with the use of penicillin in the treatment of 20 cases³ of subacute bacterial endocarditis in which therapy was started over one year ago. Not included in this report are 2 moribund patients, 1 of