Abstract
Sodium sulfanilylsulfanilate, a derivative of sulfanilamide, was first used therapeutically by Dochez and Slanetz 1 against a fatal infection in ferrets supposed to be due to and resembling dog distemper. Maclntyre and Montgomerie 2 in England employed this drug unsuccessfully in infections due to the distemper virus described by Carre-Laidlaw-Durkin. Oakley 3 used it without benefit in experimental influenza. Coggeshall 4 tested sodium sulfanilylsulfanilate in avian malaria. Hebb, Sullivan, and Felton 5 recommended sodium sulfanilylsulfanilate and sodium sulfanilate for the treatment of lymphopathia venereum. This report deals with the pharmacology and toxicity of sodum sulfanilylsulfanilate.
Sodium sulfanilylsuilate was determined by the Marshall 6 method using alpha dimethylnaphthylamine in alcoholic solution as the coupling component. Determinations were made on whole blood, urine, and fecal discharges. The fate of single and repeated doses were studied in some normal subjects and in patients, following oral and intravenous administration.
Six subjects were given single 5 g doses of sodium sulfanilylsulfanilate. In all 6 cases only traces were observed in the blood. The drug, however, may be recovered in the urine and feces. As shown in Table I, only 4.5% of the total ingested was excreted in the urine while the fecal excretion was 39.5%. In 10 patients repeated oral doses of 5 g statim and 1 g every 4 hours yielded only traces in the systemic circulation. In 2 subjects 10 g 3 times daily resulted in systemic blood levels of 1.0 mg % per 100 ml or less.
When 50 ml of a 10% solution of sodium sulfanilylsulfanilate was administered intravenously immediate high blood concentrations were observed. However, as is usual with intravenous sulfonamide therapy, though the rise in concentration is rapid, the fall is equally fast. It will be noted in Chart II that 15 minutes following a 5 g intravenous administration the concentration in the blood was 12 mg per 100 ml.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.