Dorothy S. Russell

Histological Effects of Sulphonamide—Proflavine Mixtures

manner. Thus Mitchell and Buttle (1942, 1943) have claimed beneficial effects from the use of proflavine and diflavine in war wounds. Experiments have shown, however, that acridine powders have a highly destructive effect upon the tissues (Russell and Falconer, 1943; Hawking, 1943). The use of these powders in undiluted form in the treatment of fresh wounds therefore seems undesirable, though they are not of necessity contraindicated for. secondarily infected wounds which have failed to respond to other therapeutic measures. A substantial dilution of proflavine with one of the sulphonamides might be considered a suitable mixture for the prophylactic treatment of wounds, and a blend of one part of proflavine powder in 100 or 200 parts of sulphathiazole has been suggested by McIntosh and Selbie (1943), who find that proflavine is more potent than the sulphonamides in infections with some of the gas-gangrene organisms. Sulphathiazole powder has been found by Glynn (1942) to have a negligible damaging effect upon the tissues in experimental wounds, and in this respect is preferable to either sulphanilamide or sulphapyridine.