Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
August,  19 19.  > 
Current  Literature. 
557 
An  Incompatibility. — The  following  prescription  is  incom- 
patible : 
In  the  presence  of  moisture  the  magnesia  will  combine  with  the 
acetyl-salicylic  acid  and  the  salol  will  decompose  into  magnesium 
salicylate  and  phenol. — J.  A.  M.  A.    (The  Prescriber,  May,  1919.) 
Acriflavine  as  a  Wound  Dressing. — Many  surgeons  have  ex- 
pressed disappointment  in  the  results  gained  from  the  use  of  a  solu- 
tion of  1 : 1,000  of  acriflavine  in  normal  saline  as  a  dressing  for 
wounds.  Thomas  E.  A.  Stowell  (B.  M.  J.,  1919,  1,  244;  Mar.  1) 
confirms  these  unsatisfactory  results,  but  has  found  an  emulsion,  if 
properly  prepared,  most  effective.    His  formula  is  as  follows : 
Acriflavine   0.1 
Thymol    0.005 
White  wax    4.0 
Liquid  paraffin    76.0 
Distilled  water    20.0 
Much  skill  and  care  are  necessary  in  the  preparation  of  this 
emulsion  and  the  presentation  of  it  in  a  sterile  condition.  He  has 
used  it  for  broken-down  tuberculous  glands,  and  for  smearing  over 
abdominal  wounds  after  closure  of  the  peritoneum  where  there  has 
been  suspicion  of  soiling;  in  this  way  drainage  tubes  and  their  re- 
sultant bad  effects  can  be  avoided. 
The  following  paste  is  recommended  by  A.  H.  Tubby  et  al.  as 
an  application  for  gunshot  wounds  (Lancet,  1919,  1,  251 ;  Feb.  15)  : 
Bismuth  carbonate   25 
Paraffin  (soft)    75 
Acriflavine    0.5 
Bismuth  carbonate  is,  they  find,  less  toxic  than  the  subnitrate. 
(The  Prescriber,  May,  1919.) 
Burns:  Magnesium  Sulphate  Solution  (Jour.  Pharmacol, 
band  Exper.  Therap.,  1918,  12,  211;  Nov.). — S.  J.  Meltzer,  in 
course  of  a  research  on  the  action  of  magnesium  sulphate  on  the 
Magnes.  calc  
Salol  
Acid,  acetyl-salicyl. 
gr.  x 
gr.  v 
gr.  v 
