Ntw
SPRIES
VOL.
II, No. 4
Progress
apparentIS hopeIess cases with toxemia and convuIsions. GranuIating burns may be treated to advantage with mercurochrome and paraflin dressing. This treatment rapidIy cIears up infection, keeps down excessive granuIations and promotes rapid epithelization. Areas to be skin grafted may be prepared I~? a three-day treatment with paraffin which gives a smooth flat surface to which grafts readiIy adhere. HEMFELMANK, THEODORE C., St. Louis. CerefIra birth paraIysis. Factors which influence prognosis and treatment. Am. J. Dis. Child., Feb., 1927, xxxiii, 296. Two hundred and thirty-eight chiIdren with spastic paralysis were examined in consultation with a neuroIogist and orthopedist and the FoIIowing symptoms, in the order of their importance, were found to indicate a reIatively bad prognosis: (a) menta1 deficiency, (h) progression of the disease, (c) athetosls and (cl) ataxia. The most successfui treatment was found to be periphera1 neurectomy of the nerves of suppIy to the spastic muscles, folIowed by carefully supervised training which aims at restoring the proper haIance between the opposed muscle groups. SMITH, ~IILLARD, Boston. The use and action of o-iodoxy benzoic acid in the treatment of arthritis. Boston 121. P S. J., Feb. 24, 1927, cxcvi, 305. 0-iodoxy benzoic acid was introduced by Young and Youmans of the University of hlichigan in the treatment of arthritis. In structure it is simiIar to the saIicyIates except that it contains iodine and readiIy avaiIabIe oxvgen. Its action is simiIar to that of the sa&Iates hut it is many times more effective. When first introduced, ‘intravenous injections were used, fjut. it has aIso been found to be effective orally. When given intravenousIy it produces a se\-ere constitutional reaction Tvhile administration by mouth is attended with practically no discomfort. It is anaIgesic, relieves muscIe spasm, and reduces edema. The presence of joint pain, muscIe spasm or swelling shouId be an indication for its use. The chronicity of a joint Iesion is no contraindication for a trial of the drug. A series of thirty-three patients with different types of arthritis treated with this drug is presented.
in Surgery
American
Journal
of Surgery
103
MEYERDING, HENRY W., Rochester, hlinn. The preoperative differentia1 diagnosis of bone tumors. J. Am. M. Ass., Feb. 5, 1927, Ixxxviii, 365. Meyerding presents a CIassification of bone tumors in which they progress from the traumatic and infectious through the benign to the most maIignant types. It consists of ten Iesions simulating groups: r. Inff ammatory bone tumors (osteoperiostitis) : traumatic (calIous, ossifying hematoma) ; syphilitic; ini’ectious (non-suppurative osteitis of Garre, Brodie’s abscess, tuberculosis). 2. Osteitis iibrosa cystica ; cysts. 3. Benign osteogenic tumors: exostosis; osteoma; chondroma; fif>roma. 4. Giant-cell tumors. 5. Angioma. 6. EndotfleIioma (Ewing’s tumor). 7. Periosseous tif>rosarcoma. 8. Osteogenic sarcoma. 9. hlultiple myeIoma. 10. Metastatic tumors. lleyerding asserts that with a history, cIinica1 examination, urinalysis, If’asserfnann test and roentgenogram, an expert may accurately diagnose 9 out of IO cases. There exists a smaI1 group, however, \vhich defies even the most experienced until the tumor is explored and the macroscopic and microscopic character is determined; doubtless, rare examples occur in which the maIignant growth is unsuspected until metastasis is el+Ient. The roentgenogram properIy made and interpreted is one of the most I-aluahle, if not actuaIIy the most vaIuabIe aid in diagnosis, and wiI1 aIone insure the diagnosis of the majority of bone lesions. IIIustrative cases are cited. In discussing the preoperative differentia1 diagnosis, the physician, roentgenologist and surgeon should cooperate. When differences of opinion exist as to diagnosis, the vaIue of the pathologica examination, both macroscopically and microscopically, shouId not he forgotten, as in these patients the fate of a Iimb is frequentI? dependent on them. WILSON, JOHN C., Los Angeles. DisIocations of the outer end of the cIavicIc. (Discussion.) C&f. P ll’est. iWed., Jan., 1927, xx\-i, 39. DisIocation of the acromiocIa\-icular joint, if not reduced, is a cIisabling condition. Fixation with an absorbable Iigature and arthrodcsis of the acromiocIavicuIar joint has been cornmon practice with an end-result of questionable vaIue. Since the cause is a rupture of the Iigamentous structures binding the cIavicIe to