Streptomycin and Artificial Pneumoperitoneum in the Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

¹ Chief, Tuberculosis Service.

An analysis is made of the results obtained in the treatment of 117 patients with streptomycin and pneumoperitoneum combined and with pneumoperitoneum alone. None of them was subjected to surgical paralysis of the phrenic nerve.

The damage to the drainage mechanism of the lungs and bronchial tree following the development within the lungs of irreparable pathological changes and the role of streptomycin and pneumoperitoneum in the restoration of this drainage mechanism are discussed. The sooner collapse by means of pneumoperitoneum is accomplished before cavity and advanced irreparable pathological changes develop in the lung, the more adequate will be the end results.

Length of treatment with pneumoperitoneum is important in determining the eventual outcome of the case, but the extent and character of the disease at the beginning of treatment are the deciding factors in determining this.