The Action of Antibiotics on Organisms Producing Gas Gangrene

Summary 1. The antibiotic substances and sulfonamides arranged in the order of decreasing bacteriostatic properties in vitro for the anaerobes of the gas gangrene group are: Tyrothricin, penicillin, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, aspergillic acid, gliotoxin, and sulfanilamide. 2. Penicillin and aspergillic acid were active in vitro against a sulfathiazole-fast strain of Cl. perfringens. 3. When given locally to mice infected intramuscularly with Cl. perfringens, penicillin and sodium sulfadiazine were more effective than aspergillic acid. Gliotoxin and tyrothricin were not effective in doses of 1 mg suspended in sesame oil.