8o6 
Benzine  Poisoning. 
[Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
<-    December,  1919. 
ficial  reflexes  are  present.  Babinski  and  Oppenheim  negative. 
There  is  no  clonus ;  sensory  examination  is  negative. 
Laboratory  Examination:  "Wassermann  (blood)  negative.  Spu- 
tum negative  for  tubercle  bacilli.  The  urine  had  a  specific  gravity 
of  1,022  and  was  negative  throughout  except  for  an  occasional  trace 
of  albumin  and  a  positive  bile  test  on  admission.  Blood  (October 
6)  :  R.  B.  C,  4,332,000;  W.  B.  C,  4550;  Hb.,  77  per  cent.  ;  differ- 
ential: P.  M.  N.,  54.6  per  cent.  :  P.  M,  E..  2.6  per  cent.  :  S.  M.,  33.3 
per  cent. ;  L.  M.,  5.0  per  cent. ;  trans.,  3.0  per  cent.  ;  unclassified,  1.3 
per  cent.  Gastric  analysis:  Free  HCL,  44  per  cent.,  and  total  acid- 
ity, 72  per  cent.  The  stool  was  dark  brown  and  gave  a  positive  bile 
test.  There  were  no  parasites  or  ova.  On  October  8  the  white  blood 
cells  were  5400.  A  Calmette  tuberculin  test  was  negative  with  1 
per  cent,  and  5  per  cent.  Four  other  blood  counts  showed  the  white 
blood  cells  to  be  below  5,000.  A  second  test  meal  was  given  with 
the  same  findings  as  in  the  first.  On  November  23  the  white  cells 
had  risen  to  7,280. 
Course  in  Hospital:  The  symptoms  rapidly  disappeared.  '  The 
reflexes  continued  active  for  a  long  while.  At  times  striking  the 
patella  tendon  would  cause  a  contraction  of  nearly  all  the  larger 
muscle  groups.  The  jaundice  and  cyanosis  cleared  up.  He  gained 
weight  rapidly  and  no  longer  had  difficulty  in  thinking.  He  was 
discharged  from  the  hospital  November  23,  191 5.  At  this  time  the 
reflexes  were  moderately  exaggerated.  Examination  otherwise  was 
negative.  When  seen  several  months  later  there  had  been  no  return 
of  the  symptoms. 
The  factory  at  which  the  patient  worked  was  visited.  It  was 
found  that  the  lithographing  rolls  were  dropped  into  a  trough,  six 
feet  long  and  one  foot  wide,  filled  with  benzine,  and  scrubbed  clean. 
About  two  gallons  of  benzine  evaporated  from  the  trough  daily. 
The  room  in  which  the  work  was  done  was  large,  but  from  the 
nature  of  the  lithographing  inks  it  had  to  be  tightly  closed  to  prevent 
■the  ink  from  drying.  The  patient  had  worked  for  over  a  year  five 
hours  daily  at  this  trough  where  he  was  continually  inhaling  the 
fumes.  No  other  workmen  showed  signs  of  benzine  intoxication, 
but  there  were  no  others  engaged  in  the  same  kind  of  work. 
Formerly  each  printer  had  been  required  to  clean  the  rolls  from 
his  machine,  and  this  took  only  a  few  minutes  each  day.  The  pa- 
tient had  been  cleaning  all  the  rolls  for  the  entire  factory. 
