An assessment of disamide, a new oral diuretic.

5-chloro-2: 4-disulphamyl toluene (Disamide) is a recently introduced oral diuretic. Experimentally in animals this substance possesses a powerful diuretic action closely resembling that of chlorothiazide.1 In addition, there is some similarity of action to acetazolamide as the drug appears to inhibit the action of carbonic anhydrase. Highly effective and relatively non-toxic oral diuretics are in such frequent use today that any new substance must possess powerful or specifically useful properties before it can be routinely prescribed. Any trial should include a comparison of the effectiveness of the new drug with one of the known modern diuretics. We report the results of a trial of Disamide in the treatment of patients with congestive cardiac failure in which hydrochlorothiazide was used as the diuretic for comparison.