342 
U rinary  A  n  tisepsis. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  19 1 8. 
It  is  also  possible  that  the  insecticidal  and  antiseptic  properties 
of  p-dichlorbenzene  may  render  it  applicable  in  the  treatment  of 
certain  skin  diseases.  The  writer  finds  that  it  is  very  soluble  in 
petrolatum,  lard,  and  many  fixed  and  volatile  oils,  and  large  quan- 
tities of  it  can  be  easily  incorporated  by  simply  stirring  it  into  the 
melted  base. 
Many  other  uses  for  p-dichlorbenzene  than  those  which  have 
here  been  briefly  mentioned  may  suggest  themselves  to  those  who 
will  give  the  subject  a  little  thought  and  carry  out  a  few  experiments. 
The  attention  of  pharmacists  and  manufacturers  has  been  called  to 
this  problem  because  it  is  nationally  as  well  as  commercially  im- 
portant that  it  be  solved  as  soon  as  possible.  It  is  hoped  that  those 
who  work  on  the  problem  will  publish  their  results,  even  though 
they  may  be  negative,  in  order  that  the  greatest  possible  good  may 
come  of  their  efforts.  The  writer  will  be  glad  to  give  such  assist- 
ance as  he  can  to  any  one  who  is  interested. 
URINARY  ANTISEPSIS.1 
A  Study  of  the  Antiseptic  Properties  and  the  Renal  Excre- 
tion of  Compounds  Related  to  Phenolsulphoneph- 
thalein  :  Preliminary  Report.* 
By  Edwin  G.  Davis,  M.D.,  Resident  Urologist,  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital, 
Baltimore. 
The  ideal  internal  urinary  antiseptic  must  be  a  drug  which  is 
chemically  stable,  nontoxic,  and  nonirritating  to  the  lower  urinary 
tract;  which  is  antiseptic  in  high  dilution  (in  urine,  as  well  as  in 
water),  and  which  is  eliminated  unchanged  in  high  percentage  by 
the  kidney.  There  is  no  such  drug  known.  A  consideration  of  the 
properties  possessed  by  phenolsulphonephthalein,  however,  shows 
that  this  compound  comes  very  close  to  filling  all  these  require- 
ments. Phenolsulphonephthalein  is  chemically  stable,  nontoxic  and 
nonirritating,  and  is  eliminated  by  the  kidney  with  incredible  rapid- 
1  Reprinted  from  The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association, 
March  2,  1918. 
*  From  the  James  Buchanan  Brady  Urological  Institute,  Johns  Hopkins 
Hospital. 
