Meeting of the Moscow Regional Council of Children's Doctors from 4/V-31

I. Prof. A. I Xrockiy. On the rational method of treating diphtheria. The main provisions of the report are as follows: the serum should be administered in such quantities as not only to weaken the symptoms of D., but also to completely destroy them. If there is no doubt that the antitoxin cannot restore the elements of the body that have already been destroyed by the time the serum is administered, then, on the other hand, in each individual case we cannot know whether the symptoms depend (hyperemia and swelling of the throat, hoarseness of the voice, the phenomena of cardiac degeneration, etc. P.) from irreversible changes caused by the toxin, or they indicate a continuing poisoning of the body with toxins. Therefore, serotherapy should be carried out as follows: upon admission of a patient with manifestations (at least mild) of D. he should be immediately injected with a sufficient dose of antitoxin (at least 10 thousand units), if the next day he has more symptoms of D. (raids, swelling, sweat, inflammatory glands, etc.), 10 thousand are injected again (in more severe cases, 20 thousand in the morning and evening). In severe cases, it is necessary to inject up to 140-160 tons or more for the entire duration of treatment. In no case should the administration of serum be stopped only when the condition improves, it should be administered daily until all symptoms disappear. Of the 248 cases of D. cited by the speaker (102 of them of moderate severity and 59 severe, among them 18 of croup), 3 died, and in 2 of them the above-described principle of treatment was violated. Mortality when using the method of treatment indicated by the speaker-calculated by him, the serum should be of a sufficiently high titer (1000-1500 t. units in 1 kb. see).