Ineffectiveness of adrenocortical hormones, thiamine, ascorbic acid, nupercaine, and posttraumatic serum in shock due to scalding burns

Abstract

Our results demonstrate that, under the conditions of these experiments, neither desoxycorticosterone acetate, adrenal cortical extract, thiamine, ascorbic acid, nupercaine, nor posttraumatic convalescent serum from burned rats possessed significant antiburn shock activity. Of the agents tested, all seemed definitely ineffective, with the possible exception of thiamine, which, although it did not decrease mortality, did somewhat increase the average survival. It will be seen that this beneficial effect was not consistent. Therefore, we conclude that, although thiamine may be slightly effective in burn shock, its activity is small as compared to the results obtained with a highly effective agent such as large volumes of saline solution or pretreatment with liver extract. 1 Examination of the results with all of the agents under investigation reveals that, in any single test, using twenty animals per group, apparently positive results are obtainable; but, when the tests are repeated, and the results are evaluated in composite form, it is evident that the so-called positive effects are due to variability of the method. Although we cannot state definitely that similar variations are encountered in evaluating antishock activity with other methods, it does appear possible that some of the conflicting results regarding various agents in shock may be explicable in terms of variability factors which were not taken into account. It is not intended to imply that our observations necessarily apply to other forms of shock, produced by other procedures, for there is now evidence that the cause and treatment of various types of shock may be fundamentally dissimilar. 28, 29