BISMUTH IN THE TREATMENT OF SYPHILIS

Abstract

My attention was called to bismuth as an antisyphilitic agent by my colleague, Dr. C. L. McCarthy, who had observed its effect on human syphilis in one of the clinics in Paris, as well as having had clinical experience with it in the treatment of syphilis while in the service of the U. S. Navy. The preparation he used was potassium and sodium tartrobismuthate as suggested by Sazerac and Levaditi.1Through him several hundred ampules of this preparation were obtained in September, 1922, and we began the treatment of human syphilis at once. Since that time the literature regarding the efficacy of bismuth as an antisyphilitic agent has become voluminous, principally in France, but in other continental countries as well. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Balzer,2in 1889, first experimented with bismuth with the idea of treating syphilis. His experiences were unfortunate, as most of his animals developed a