Antiseptic Action of Benzyl Alcohol. 25 



17 (1392) _ 



On the antiseptic action of benzyl alcohol. 



By D. I. Macht and D. E. Nelson. 



[From the Pharmacological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins Uni- 

 versity, Baltimore, Md.] 



In a communication 1 dealing with the pharmacological and 

 therapeutic action of benzyl alcohol as a local anesthetic one of 

 the authors (M.) called attention to the fact that pure benzyl 

 alcohol when injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly was irri- 

 tant and produced necrosis of tissue. In every case, however, 

 in which this occurred there was never a pyogenic infection noted ; 

 the slough being of a sterile character. This, it was remarked, 

 was undoubtedly due to the antiseptic properties of pure benzyl 

 alcohol and the destructive effect was not at all surprising as sim- 

 ilar results could be produced by antiseptics in general when in- 

 jected into the tissues in the undiluted form. It was interesting, 

 however, to investigate further the antiseptic properties of phen- 

 methylol or benzyl alcohol, and especially in dilute form. In the 

 present communication the authors wish to report a few obser- 

 vations on the subject. 



Bacteriological studies with solutions of benzyl alcohol in 

 water showed that it is quite antiseptic to a number of micro- 

 organisms. Experiments with a 0.5 per cent, solution of phen- 

 methylol were found to kill cultures of Friedlander bacillus within 

 nineteen hours. The same strength of the drug killed pyocyaneus 

 cultures within twenty-four hours and growths of bacillus coli 

 communis in seventy-two hours. Experiments with a 1 per cent, 

 solution of benzyl alcohol gave evidence of even more marked and 

 rapid bactericidal action. 



A large number of clinical histories seem to confirm the auth- 

 ors' observations of the antiseptic properties of benzyl alcohol. 

 A study of over 200 post-operative histories of patients on whom 

 operations were performed with the use of benzyl alcohol as a 

 local anesthetic showed that in all cases the wounds healed rapidly 



1 Macht, Jour, of Pharmacol. &» Exp. Therap., 1918, XL, 263. 



