A Bactericidal Principle in Excretions of Surgical Maggots which Destroys Important Etiological Agents of Pyogenic Infections.

The elimination of bacteria from pyogenic infections must precede permanent healing. That such a phenomenon occurs under the influence of maggot therapy is well known. Baer, in his original report (1929), called the maggots "a viable antiseptic." Later (1931) he had the following to say: "Whatever the bacteria of the original wound, be they aerobes or anaerobes ... the amount begins to diminish from the first application of maggots." Weil and coworkers (1933) made prelimi ary bacteriological studies of wounds before implantation of maggots, followed by subsequent cultures at each dressing, and found a marked decrease in infection as the treatment progressed. Other workers (Buchman and Blair, 1932; Livingston and Prince, 1932; Myers and Czaja, 1931; Slocum et al., 1933) have obtained the same results. How this remarkable phenomenon is accomplished however, has been only partially shown. Among the factors that contribute to wound disinfection are: 1. The mechanical washing out of bacteria through stimulation of drainage by the maggots; by a, mechanical stimulation of the viable tissue; b, enzymic liquefaction of the necrotic tissue; and c, increase of discharge through dilution by maggot excretions, or a combination of these factors. 2. The destruction of organisms in the alimentary tract of the maggots, as has been shown by Robinson and Norwood (1933). 3. The utilization of necrotic tissue as maggot food, thus rendering conditions less favor-