Gold therapy in pulmonary tuberculosis: a study of the literature with
observations on 24 cases treated
personally.Gold therapy is of definite value in the treatment
of pulmonary tuberculosis.Its results cannot compare with those of collapse
therapy, but it makes artificial pneumothorax possible
in many cases of bilateral disease where otherwise it
would be precluded by the nature and extent of the
lesion in the contralateral lung.In originally unilateral disease treated by
artificial pneumothorax it can control a new spread in
the contralateral lung which would otherwise necessitate
the abandonment of the collapse.In unilateral exudative disease where artificial
pneumothorax has been tried and failed, it may so
influence the course of the lesions as to bring about
a condition suitable for thoracoplasty.It is in freshly spreading exudative or nodular lesions
that its beneficial influence is most apparent.
Exudative lesions undergo absorption and the productive
nodular type fibrosis to an extent which is not usually
seen in cases treated by sanatorium regime alone.Excerbations in the course of chronic fibro- caseous
disease may be favourably influenced. Here again it is
the fresh spreading disease which is mainly affected.The consistence, quantity and bacillary content, of the
sputum are all favourably influenced and in a large
proportion of treated cases, the sputum becomes, and
remains negative.Small doses not exceeding 0.25 gm. give just as
favourable results as larger ones, and the undesirable
reactions likely to result from the use of gold therapy
are milder and much less frequent with small rather
than with large doses.When small doses do not influence the course of the
disease in a favourable manner it is unlikely that an
increase in the size of the dose above 0.25 gm. will
have any beneficial results
