﻿SULFONAMIDES 
  IN 
  THE 
  TREATMENT 
  OF 
  WAR 
  WOUNDS 
  

  

  AND 
  BURNS 
  x 
  

  

  By 
  Chables 
  L. 
  Fox, 
  Jb., 
  M. 
  D. 
  

   Department 
  of 
  Bacteriology, 
  College 
  of 
  Physicians 
  and 
  Surgeons 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  major 
  problems 
  of 
  global 
  warfare 
  is 
  the 
  immediate 
  

   nedical 
  care 
  of 
  those 
  injured 
  by 
  the 
  ruthlessness 
  of 
  mechanized 
  war- 
  

   fare 
  and 
  aerial 
  bombardment. 
  Our 
  Government 
  has 
  mustered 
  every 
  

   possible 
  resource 
  to 
  meet 
  this 
  medical 
  emergency. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  indeed 
  ironic 
  that 
  the 
  horror 
  of 
  war 
  casualties 
  has 
  stimulated 
  

   tremendous 
  progress 
  in 
  medical 
  research. 
  Under 
  the 
  Office 
  of 
  Scien- 
  

   tific 
  Research 
  and 
  Development 
  in 
  Washington, 
  specialized 
  commit- 
  

   tees, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  Committee 
  on 
  Medical 
  Research, 
  have 
  contracted 
  

   with 
  scientific 
  institutions 
  throughout 
  the 
  nation 
  for 
  specific, 
  vital 
  

   war 
  research 
  on 
  problems 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  treatment 
  of 
  shock, 
  the 
  control 
  

   of 
  malaria, 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  sulfonamides 
  in 
  wounds 
  and 
  burns, 
  and 
  many 
  

   others. 
  New 
  developments 
  are 
  communicated 
  directly 
  to 
  representa- 
  

   tives 
  of 
  the 
  armed 
  forces 
  — 
  almost 
  from 
  the 
  test 
  tube 
  to 
  the 
  battlefield. 
  

  

  Let 
  us 
  now 
  focus 
  on 
  the 
  problem 
  of 
  war 
  wounds 
  and 
  burns 
  and 
  see 
  

   the 
  progress 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  made. 
  To 
  understand 
  the 
  treatment, 
  at- 
  

   tempt 
  to 
  visualize 
  exactly 
  what 
  happens. 
  A 
  man 
  is 
  engaged 
  in 
  com- 
  

   bat. 
  Suddenly 
  he 
  is 
  struck 
  by 
  a 
  bullet 
  or 
  shell 
  fragments, 
  or 
  his 
  

   clothes 
  may 
  be 
  set 
  on 
  fire, 
  or 
  he 
  may 
  be 
  flung 
  off 
  his 
  ship 
  into 
  water 
  

   covered 
  with 
  burning 
  oil. 
  Within 
  a 
  very 
  short 
  time 
  help 
  arrives. 
  

  

  Through 
  first-aid 
  courses 
  you 
  have 
  learned 
  enough 
  to 
  recognize 
  

   the 
  immediate 
  problem 
  : 
  treatment 
  for 
  shock 
  and 
  control 
  of 
  bleeding. 
  

  

  Now 
  this 
  is 
  where 
  recent 
  research 
  has 
  made 
  an 
  important 
  contri- 
  

   bution. 
  Patients 
  in 
  shock 
  from 
  burns 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  "kept 
  warm" 
  

   or 
  have 
  "heat 
  applied" 
  with 
  hot 
  blankets 
  or 
  hot 
  water 
  bottles. 
  Care- 
  

   ful 
  studies 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  room 
  temperature 
  (70°-75°) 
  is 
  best; 
  that 
  

   the 
  extremes 
  of 
  heat 
  or 
  cold 
  are 
  definitely 
  harmful. 
  

  

  After 
  shock 
  has 
  been 
  treated, 
  the 
  next 
  problem 
  is 
  to 
  prevent 
  infec- 
  

   tion. 
  Gunshot 
  wounds 
  are 
  relatively 
  clean 
  but, 
  since 
  bacteria 
  that 
  

   cause 
  serious 
  infection 
  are 
  everywhere 
  about 
  us, 
  most 
  wounds 
  and 
  

  

  1 
  Address 
  delivered 
  to 
  the 
  Biological 
  Sciences 
  Group, 
  Special 
  Libraries 
  Association, 
  at 
  

   their 
  annual 
  conference, 
  1943. 
  The 
  recent 
  research 
  mentioned 
  Is 
  work 
  done 
  under 
  a 
  con- 
  

   tract, 
  recommended 
  by 
  the 
  Committee 
  on 
  Medical 
  Research, 
  between 
  the 
  Office 
  of 
  Scientific 
  

   Research 
  and 
  Development 
  and 
  Columbia 
  University. 
  

  

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