690 ABSTRACTS 



of antibody production without causing an overstimulation, resulting 

 in the liberation of large amounts of toxic products. 



The initial dose consists of 0.1 cc. of a 1: 10,000 dilution of O. T. 

 Doses are repeated and increased in arithmetical progression, tem- 

 perature conditions controlling the advance, until the patient can re- 

 ceive 0.2 cc. of pure 0. T. without a reaction. Tuberculin B. E. is 

 then employed and the immunization continued, doses being given at 

 longer intervals. 



When a patient can take 0.1 cc. of pure O. T. four times in a year 

 without a reaction, he is presumably immune from infection with 

 tuberculosis.— M. W. C. 



Sputum Cultures with Subsequent Complement Fixation Control. W. 



W. Williams and Ward Burdick. Interstate Med. Jour., 1916, 



23, 508-512. 



The technique described by the authors deals with infections other 

 than tubercular. The mouth of the patient is thoroughly cleansed. 

 The specimen is then raised from the deep pharyngeal region. The 

 mass of sputum is washed in sterile saline solution and the mucoid 

 fibers smeared over human blood agar plates. If a vaccine is de- 

 sired, the growth is washed off the plates with salt solution containing 

 0.3 per cent tricresol. The suspension is standardized and diluted so 

 that the tricresol is only sufficient for purposes of preservation. 



The patient's serum is tested by the complement fixation test, using 

 the autogenous antigen and stock antigens of organisms which might 

 be expected to cause the inflammation. The autogenous antigen 

 seldom fails to give a positive reaction and the corresponding stock 

 antigen generally gives positive results, except in the case of strepto- 

 cocci. This confirmatory test is a distinct advantage in vaccine 

 therapy. — G. H. R. 



Complement-Fixation in Pulmonary Tuberculosis. A. Meyer. Medi- 

 cal Record, 1916, 90, 232-235. 



Report is given of the results of complement fixation tests with 

 tubercular sera and a new antigen. 



The antigen is polyvalent and is made from young cultures of hu- 

 man strains by grinding 20 mgm. of moist tubercle bacilli with 90 

 mgm. of salt for an hour, adding distilled water to isotonicity, and 

 separating heavier clumps by allowing the suspension to stand a few 

 minutes after shaking. This antigen is not anticomplementary in 1 

 cc. quantities, and fixes positive sera in 0.02 cc. 



The test is carried out with one-half the original Wassermann quan- 

 tities, using 2 units of amboceptor and 2 of complement. The anti- 

 sheep rabbit hemolytic system is used. 



Of the cases tested 96 per cent of those with positive sputum re- 

 acted positively; 93 per cent of doubtful cases gave positive results, 

 and these results were later substantiated hy clinical or skiagraphic 



