SERUM THERAPY 101 



Diseases, September, 1914), Dr. E. E. Irons re- 

 ported the analysis of 225 cases of tetanus 

 treated during the years 1907 to 1913. The 

 cases included those treated in large metropoli- 

 tan hospitals and those in the private practice 

 of physicians. The analysis was made to ascer- 

 tain what results are being obtained in this 

 country with Tetanus Antitoxin, and to deter- 

 mine whether the failures in some cases may not 

 be ascribed to the faulty and insufficient method 

 of giving the antitoxin. Irons concludes from 

 this analysis that the mortality from tetanus is 

 20 per cent lower when treated with antitoxin 

 than when antitoxin is not used, and that the 

 mortality of cases treated by efficient methods 

 and adequate doses is considerably lower than 

 that of cases receiving small doses subcutane- 

 ously. 



Practical Value of Antitoxin It cannot be 

 denied that this is not a brilliant showing for 

 antitoxin treatment, but it is by no means sur- 

 prising to those who are familiar with (1) the 

 difficulty in impressing physicians with the su- 

 preme importance of early treatment, and (2) 

 the frequency with which antitoxin is adminis- 

 tered by the least efficacious method, namely, 



