ORIGIN AND PRESENT STATUS OF THE EMETIN TREATMENT OF AMEBIC DYSENTERY

Abstract

Amebic dysentery is known to be fairly common in certain parts of the United States, and as a matter of fact is more generally distributed and more frequent than is usually supposed. The treatment of this disease, in the past, has been rather unsatisfactory; but within the last two years a new treatment, namely, the hypodermic injection of the soluble salts of emetin (alkaloid), has been introduced. Since the literature bearing on this work is scattered throughout the medical journals of the world, and much of it is rather inaccessible, it is thought that a discussion of this subject will prove of interest. THE ORIGIN OF THE EMETIN TREATMENT Large doses of ipecacuanha have been used for many years in the treatment of dysentery, particularly by the English practitioners in India. Even before this use of the drug, Pelletier, in 1817, described an alkaloid in ipecacuanha which he called emetin.