IJ'O APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY 



' Since the introduction of the antitoxic treatment, a large 

 number of cases have been recorded in England, Germany, 

 France, Austria, America, and other countries. Many of 

 these are of but little value from the statistical point of 

 view. Either the cases are isolated, or the age has not 

 been noted, or previous statistics have not been recorded, 

 or they have been rendered useless for comparison by the 

 lack of some precaution or other. Nevertheless, there 

 remain over 3,000 cases recorded by different observers, in 

 which the mortality has been compared with that of cases 

 not treated, and in which careful precautions have been 

 taken to arrive at a correct conclusion. 



' In every series the statistics show a lower mortality than 

 that obtained by other methods of treatment. In many 

 instances the decrease in mortality has been remarkable, 

 sinking to half that which it was before. 



' In no instance has a physician recorded a large series 

 of hospital patients under his own care in which a careful 

 comparison of the statistics has been unfavourable to the 

 antitoxic treatment. 



' Great care should be taken to perform the injection 

 with strict aseptic precautions. The skin should be carefully 

 washed with soap and water, and subsequently with 1 in 

 20 carbolic lotion. The syringe should be boiled imme- 

 diately before use. In the choice of a syringe, it is neces- 

 sary to select one which can be boiled without damage. 

 The piston should be made of asbestos or india-rubber, and 

 all the joints made tight by washers of the same substances ; 

 no cement of any kind should be used in the joints. If 

 care is not taken, septic troubles may arise. 



'In a few instances abscesses have been recorded after 

 injection, and these may be due to two causes : either the 

 injection has not been performed with proper precaution, 

 or the serum has been previously contaminated. The latter 



