THE TREATMENT OF PNEUMOCOCCIC PNEUMONIA WITH SULFADIAZINE

Abstract

Extensive clinical use has established beyond doubt the value of sulfapyridine and sulfathiazole in the treatment of pneumococcic pneumonia. Among the many similar compounds that have been synthesized, one in particular has shown sufficient promise in preliminary studies to be worthy of clinical trial. This compound, sulfadiazine (2-sulfanilamidopyrimidine) is the pyrimidine analogue of sulfapyridine, synthesized by Roblin and his associates.¹Feinstone and his co-workers²administered sulfadiazine to various laboratory animals and obtained higher average blood levels than after the administration of similar dosages of sulfapyridine or sulfathiazole. The therapeutic effects with sulfadiazine were equal or superior to those with sulfapyridine or sulfathiazole, and the toxic reactions were less frequent. Studies on the absorption and excretion of sulfadiazine in human beings have been made by several groups of investigators³who agreed that higher levels of the drug in the blood were obtained and that these persisted over a