﻿IX. B. 1 Willets: Treatment of Entamoebiasis 95 



avoid a dysentery of which there may be no danger whatsoever, 

 unless the treatment be inexpensive, give good results quickly, 

 and the method of administration be simple and unattended by 

 prolonged unpleasant reaction. 



THERAPEUTIC AGENTS NOW USED FOR ENTAMCEBIASIS 



At the present time intestinal entamoebiasis is treated with 

 (1) ipecac, (2) emetine, (3) neosalvarsan, and (4) bismuth. 

 Reports of each and all of these treatments deal chiefly with 

 their application to the symptomatic cure of dysenteric cases, 

 whereas, in keeping with our knowledge of the incubation period 

 of entamoebic dysentery and of the tendency of the dysenteric 

 symptoms to recur, they should be applied also to the cleansing 

 of the bowel of entamoebse. 



The well-known difficulties associated with the ipecac treat- 

 ment prohibit it from being used extensively as a prophylactic 

 agent. 



The evidence accumulated in various parts of the world con- 

 vincingly^ proves the power of emetine hydrochloride quickly to 

 relieve the dysenteric symptoms of entamoebiasis ; but Its efficacy 

 in absolutely cleansing the intestines of entamoebae is undeter- 

 mined, for the reason that its effect upon entamoebae has not been 

 sufficiently checked in many cases by laboratory examinations, 

 as indicated in Table I. 



Allan (6), Baermann and HeinemannC?), Gaide and Mon- 

 zels(i4), and Marchoux(20) found that entamoebae were not 

 expelled from the intestinal tract by the emetine treatment to 

 the degree that the relief of clinical symptoms would lead one 

 to suspect. Our results confimi their findings (see Tables VI 

 and VIII) . 



It may be added that, with Laveran(24), we believe a large 

 share of the credit for the beneficial results obtained by the use 

 of emetine in entamoebiasis by whatsoever method of administra- 

 tion belongs to Vedder(25) whose experimental studies induced 

 Rogers (3) to use it hypodermically. 



The treatment of entamoebiasis with salvarsan or neosalvarsan 

 seems to offer great possibilities. Ehrlich(26) said "Hata was 

 able to cure (amoebic dysentery) with a single intravenous injec- 

 tion of salvarsan." 



In his preliminary report of 12 cases of intestinal amoebiasis 

 and amoebic dysentery treated by the intravenous injection of 

 salvarsan, Winn (27) gives the following summary: 



