692 LEWELLYS F. BARKEK 



lum and Voegtlin found that the injection of a solution of a salt of cal- 

 cium into t^e circulation of an animal in tetany promptly checked all the 

 symptoms, the animal returning to an apparently normal condition. Mag- 

 nesium salts had a similar effect, but caused also an intoxication. These 

 observers and many others (Parhon and Urechie, Berkeley and Beebe, 

 Biedl, Stone, Bell and Martin, Ott) have made use of soluble calcium salts, 

 administered orally, subcutaneously, or intravenously, in the treatment 

 of tetany in human beings. These salts have been used in both postop- 

 erative and non-operative tetany and with and without the simultaneous 

 use of parathyroid extract. Calcium therapy is doubtless capable of doing 

 much to tide a patient over until the function of any remaining parathy- 

 roid glands can be improved, or, at any rate, until the causal vice of metab- 

 olism, whatever it may be, disappears. Calcium chlorid, calcium lac- 

 tate, and calcium bromid are among the salts that have been used. In 

 the severe forms of tetany, Moffit, of San Francisco, gives from three 

 to five grams (45 to 75 grains) of calcium salt in from 300 to 400 

 cubic centimeters of normal salt solution intravenously. The injection 

 may be repeated after twenty-four hours, if necessary. In milder at- 

 tacks, fifteen grains of calcium lactate may be given three times a day by 

 mouth. 



Hyoscin and curare, which have sometimes been used as sedatives, are 

 better avoided. Benzyl benzoate would seem worthy of trial. 



3. Hydrotherapy and Thermotherapy in Tetany 



During an acute attack of tetany a tepid bath often makes tha patient 

 feel more comfortable and helps to relieve the spasms. Applications of 

 cold are, as a rule, harmful and exposure to cold may even precipitate an 

 attack. Children subject to tetany should not be taken to hospitals or to 

 dispensaries on cold days. On the other hand, Curschmann has produced 

 prompt relief in some cases of tetany by the local application of cold. 

 And Trousseau found applications of ice to the spine an advantage in some 

 cases, though for laryngismus stridulus he applied a hot sponge over the 

 trachea. Patients subject to tetany should live in an equable tempera- 

 ture and should wear wool next the skin, especially when exposed to the 

 raw winds of the early spring months. 



4. Electrotherapy in Tetany 



Faradism and galvanism have been tried in the treatment of both 

 acute and chronic tetany. They are of no value. 



