Surer, but No Quicker

Since 1943, when penicillin was first proved effective against syphilis, doctors have been trying to decide on the best way to use it. Last week Dr. Herman N. Bundesen, president of the Chicago board of health, and four associates reported some new findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

They had found that the most effective way was a combination of penicillin shots and artificial fever treatment. Patients were put in a conventional "hotbox," their temperatures raised to 106DEGF. for three three-hour periods; they were given a total of 1,200,000 units of sodium penicillin during 7 1/2 days. The treatment worked in 82.1% of the cases. When patients were given the same amount of penicillin in the same period, without fever treatment, results were only 70.4% effective. But the fever did not speed up the treatment. When patients were given the same amount of penicillin in 30 hours, with fever sessions cut to one six-hour period, only 60% were cured.

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