362  Review  of  Advances  in  Pharmacy.  {AmjuJn°eurI^I9arm* 
from  the  chaos  in  which  we  were  last  November.  We  shall  most 
likely  be  much  longer  extricating  the  other  half  and  as  to  some 
things  I  dare  say  we  may  never  get  back  where  we  once  were.  To 
sum  up  the  matter  I  think  we  are  justified  in  saying  that  the  situa- 
tion of  this  industry  in  respect  of  its  raw  materials  is  broadly  about 
the  same  as  that  of  the  country  at  large.  We  have  come  through 
the  storm  without  shipwreck,  and  while  we  are  still  wallowing  in 
troubled  waters  and  hampered  by  the  fog  of  uncertainty,  all  we  need 
to  keep  off  the  rocks  is  watchfulness,  self-confidence  and  a  little 
more  of  the  same  kind  of  luck  we  have  had. 
A  REVIEW  OF  THE  ADVANCES  IN  PHARMACY. 
By  John  K.  Thum,  Ph.M., 
THE  LANKENAU   HOSPITAL,  PHILADELPHIA. 
Dichloramin-T  and  Petrolatum  Dressing  for  Burns. — Dr.  Soll- 
mann,  of  the  Western  Reserve  University  School  of  Medicine,  re- 
counts a  detailed  study  of  this  substance  undertaken  in  the  pharma- 
cologic laboratory  of  the  university.  Dichloramin-T  has  the  very 
real  advantage  of  furnishing  a  continuous  supply  of  the  antiseptic 
agent,  the  action  being  continuous  for  long  periods  of  time  and  can 
be  applied  with  the  simplest  form  of  dressings.  Of  course  the  im- 
portance of  a  substance  that  will  supply  continuous  antiseptic  action 
over  quite  a  period  of  time  when  it  is  impossible  to  kill  all  the 
bacteria  at  once  can  be  readily  appreciated.  Its  convenience  of 
application  can  also  be  readily  appreciated.  However,  dichlora- 
min-T  has  some  rather  glaring  disadvantages.  The  solutions  must 
be  prepared  with  some  care,  and  must  be  fairly  fresh,  or  else  treated 
for  the  presence  of  available  chlorine.  Application  causes  consider- 
able smarting  and  burning.  This,  though,  disappears  promptly  and 
can  usually  be  tolerated.  It  is  very  prone  to  irritate  the  skin  after 
repeated  applications. 
In  most  cases  these  advantages  are  of  little  import  and  can  be 
overlooked.  In  connection  with  the  treatment  of  burns,  however, 
limitations  manifest  themselves  that  must  be  reckoned  with.  The 
large  open  surfaces  require  protection  against  mechanical  irritation 
and  access  of  air,  and  dichloramin-T-chlorcosane  solution  fails  in 
