Effects of Tetrachlorethylene without a Purge, Followed by Ferrous Sulfate in Ancylostomiasis

A. R. Pinto Missão de Estudo e Combate da Doença do Sono na Guiné Portuguesa

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F. Coutinho Costa Missão de Estudo e Combate da Doença do Sono na Guiné Portuguesa

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L. V. de Meira Missão de Estudo e Combate da Doença do Sono na Guiné Portuguesa

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J. Pacheco Viana Missão de Estudo e Combate da Doença do Sono na Guiné Portuguesa

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Carr et al. (1954), working in the Dominican Republic, showed that, in the treatment of ancylostomiasis, tetrachlorethylene is more effective in removing worms and provokes less complaint on the part of the patients when it is not followed by a saline purgative. Because of the practical importance of such a finding, we were interested in discovering whether the same therapeutic procedure would be equally effective on the African continent. At the same time, we took occasion to observe the effect of ferrous sulfate treatment on hemoglobin regeneration.

Materials and Methods. For these purposes, 165 patients with hemoglobin values ranging from 25 to 85 per cent (Sahli) were treated as follows.

1) Tetrachlorethylene, in a dosage of 0.12 ml./kg. (maximum dose, 5 ml.) was administered every 4 days until all worms were removed. On the evening before the treatment, patients had a light dinner without fats, and the drug was given next morning on an empty stomach.

Author Notes

Address: Missão do Sono, Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, West Africa

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