Sensitivity to Acacia

The beneficial results of acacia injected intravenously in combating hemorrhage and surgical shock have been demonstrated experimentally and clinically by Bayliss,1Rous and Wilson,2Mann,3Keith4in association with the British Shock Committee, Randall,5McIndoe6and others. Huffman,7in 1929, reported its use in 300 cases at the Mayo Clinic and confirmed its therapeutic value in shock. Anaphylactoid reactions8which followed its first injection during the early work with acacia were shown to be the result of impurities in the solution, and untoward effects were not observed with properly prepared solutions. Reports of true anaphylactic reactions following its use have not been found in a review of the literature. Bayliss was unable to produce anaphylactic shock with acacia in cats and guinea-pigs, and De Kruif concluded that solutions of acacia were harmless so far as anaphylactic effect is concerned. Theoretically, because of