EDEMA AND CONGESTIVE FAILURE RELATED TO ADMINISTRATION OF RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA George A. Perera, M.D., New York Following the administration of alkaloids of Rauwolfia serpentina, the occasional occurrence of temporary sodium retention has been reported.1In the course of further experience with these drugs in the treatment of hypertension, fluid retention has now been encountered in five instances, even to the point of extensive edema, pulmonary congestion, and venous pressure elevation. The four women and one man who developed fluid retention all had documented hypertensive vascular disease with no previous history of dyspnea, edema, or cardiac pain. Four had negative urinalyses and one a 1+ proteinuria immediately prior to the episode. Three had been given 0.25 mg. of reserpine (Serpasil) twice daily by mouth, and two had been given Rauwolfia serpentina (Raudixin), 100 mg. twice daily by mouth, all five being on an ambulatory outpatient basis and on a self-selected