tetracycline and boric-acid

Boric acid poisoning in 11 infants, occurring in the newborn nursery as a result of the accidental and inadvertent use of 2.5% boric acid in the preparation of the formulae, is reported. Five of the infants died. All except two exhibited the classical symptomatology of acute boric acid poisoning, namely, diarrhea, vomiting, erythema, exfoliation, desquamation of the skin, and marked central nervous system irritation. Early manifestations of poisoning were nonspecific, and one patient died before skin manifestations were noted. Peritoneal dialysis, instituted in nine cases, was found to be the most effective method of treatment. It is recommended that boric acid, which is of doubtful therapeutic value, should be completely removed from hospitals, dispensaries and pharmacopoeias.

Topics: Acidosis; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Borates; Boric Acids; Color Perception Tests; Dehydration; Diarrhea; Diarrhea, Infantile; Erythema; Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood; Gastric Lavage; Hypernatremia; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Peritoneal Dialysis; Phenobarbital; Seizures; Tetracycline; Toxicology; Vomiting

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Borates; Boric Acids; Chlortetracycline; Colorimetry; Inorganic Chemicals; Metals; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline