Novasurol in the Treatment of Ascites in Hepatic Disease

Novasurol is a double salt of sodium mercurichlorphenyl oxycetate with diethylbarbituric acid (barbital), and contains 33.9 per cent, of mercury. It was introduced originally by Zieler 1 as a remedy for syphilis, but at present it is being used largely as a diuretic. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, mercury compounds have been recommended as diuretics by certain authors, but these have failed of general application because of ineffectiveness or of untoward or toxic effects. Novasurol has an advantage over metallic mercury and calomel in that it is freely soluble in water and may be administered by subcutaneous, intramuscular or intravenous injections. Our interest in this drug was incited by a statement of Wenckebach, in whose clinic Saxl and Heilig 2 first proved its efficacy in cases of cardiac dropsy, in the treatment of which its best results have been obtained. It often succeeds in cases in which the