USE OF "DIBENZYLINE" AS A VASODILATOR IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE DIGITAL ISCHEMIA

Abstract

IN THE management of patients with vascular disease one naturally seeks for a vasodilator drug which will offer substantial vasodilatation in the extremities with minimal effects elsewhere. Such a drug would be particularly useful in so-called Raynaud's syndrome, where it might often obviate the need for surgical sympathectomy, especially for the upper extremity, when the operation is frequently unsatisfactory. The vasodilator effect of Dibenzyline * (N-phenoxyisopropyl-N-benzyl- β -chloroethylamine hydrochloride) has been briefly reported by several observers.† The results in a few patients in whom we tried this drug in 1951 gave promise that Dibenzyline more nearly approached the ideal than other vasodilators with which we were acquainted. This opinion was strengthened by a further use of Dibenzyline over a two-year period for 23 patients suffering from severe digital ischemia, and we, therefore, offer this account of our experiences. We feel that the drug was given a somewhat more rigorous test than