Abstract
Aureomycin is a new antibiotic which is active in vitro and in experimental animals against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and is also effective against experimental infections with rickettsias and with viruses of the psittacosis lymphogranuloma venereum group.† The findings in 4 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia and in one case of meningo-coccemia are presented here briefly. The bac-teriologic methods are described elsewhere. 1 , 2
The cases of lobar pneumonia were of moderate severity and a single lobe was involved in each instance. All were in males ranging in age from 16 to 65 years. Pneumo-cocci were identified and typed from the sputum in each instance and from the blood in one case before oral aureomycin therapy was started. One patient received an initial dose of 0.5 g followed by 0.25 g every 6 hours for a total of 5 g; the others received 0.5 g every 6 or 8 hours for a total of 10 g in 2 cases and 20 g in the oldest patient. No other chemotherapy or antibiotic was used. Some of the relevant findings are shown in Figure 1.
The patients became afebrile, and both subjective and objective improvement occurred in each instance between 18 and 36 hours after the first dose and was slowest in the oldest patients who had the severest illness and jaundice.
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