Treatment of Cerebrospinal Meningitis by Spinal Irrigation with Electrargol

dome; years ago, Widal reported a desperate case of cerebrospinal meningitis which was apparently cured by washing out the spinal theca with solution of collargol. Bonche and his colleagues have recorded a case in which the spinal theca was washed with warm sterile normal saline solution through two needles, one introduced between the 2nd and 3rd lumbar vertebne and the other between the 7th cervical and the 1st dorsal, but no improvement followed the operation and the patient died a month later. Halahan has reported successful cases treated by washing the spinal canal with one-half per cent, solution of carbolic acid in normal saline solution, combined with lumbar puncture and injection of meningo-coccus serum. The success in Widal's desperate case led me to try spinal irrigation with electrargol in some cases of the disease. Nine cases were treated in the above way, out of which four were very