Type I Lobar Pneumonia Treated With Concentrated Pneumococcic Antibody (Felton)

A primary consideration in evaluating a specific therapeutic agent for the treatment of lobar pneumonia is the determination of its effectiveness in saving life. A large amount of data has been accumulated by investigators who sought to determine the effect of Felton's concentrated pneumococcic antibody on the mortality from the disease. Table 1, which contains the fatality rates from type I lobar pneumonia obtained in controlled clinical therapeutic trials in New York and Boston, shows that this antibody has a consistently beneficial effect. It is noteworthy that, as with other immune specific measures, the best results are obtained following treatment early in the disease. Since the individual physician often bases his use of a therapeutic measure on his own experience and that of his friends, the statistical method, as it is used in large hospitals, is for him of little value. This is particularly true in a disease such as