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In a recent paper, Finland, Jones, and Bennett1reported on the antibiotic sensitivity and phage types of pathogenic staphylococci isolated from hospitalized patients and autopsies at the Boston City Hospital during the latter half of 1955. Some relationship was demonstrated between resistance of strains to the most widely used antibiotics and prior antibiotic therapy of the patients from whom the strains were obtained. It was also shown that marked differences in the antibiotic-resistant pattern of strains isolated at different times from the same source or from different sources at the same time in any given patient were usually related to the occurrence or introduction of different strains, as judged by their phage types, and only occasionally were they related directly to the antibiotic or antibiotics previously used in the treatment of the patient. The present study was carried out on strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from infected patients at

Many new semisynthetic penicillins have been produced since 1959 when Batchelor et al1isolated 6-aminopenicillanic acid. Many of these agents resist degradation by penicillinase and, hence, are efficacious against penicillinase-producing staphylococci. At present, two semisynthetic penicillins, methicillin and oxacillin, are commercially available. The purpose of this paper is to compare these two antibiotics with two new semisynthetic penicillins, nafcillin and cloxacillin, in vitro and in vivo. For the first time, a cephalosporin C derivative, cephalothin, has become available on a commercial scale, and this compound has also been included in the study. Methods and Materials Methicillin and oxacillin were supplied by Bristol Laboratories, Syracuse, NY. Cephalothin was obtained from Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis, as compound 38253. Nafcillin was supplied by Wyeth Laboratories, Inc., Radnor, Pa, as Wy 3277. Cloxacillin was supplied by Ayerst, McKenna & Harrison, Ltd., Montreal, as Ay 6203. Beecham Research Laboratories also supplied oxacillin and

ACQUIRED hypogammaglobulinemia is characterized by frequent respiratory-tract infections and may be associated with chronic infection of the bronchial tree. Continuous therapy with γ-globulin, sulfonamides, or antibiotics has been advocated for the prevention of acute exacerbations of bronchial infection. In this paper five patients with acquired hypogammaglobulinemia, given antibiotics as prophylactics, are reported and other adequately documented cases that have been reported are reviewed. Method of Study Our five patients1are part of a larger group observed in a long-term study of chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis to determine whether the continuous administration of certain antibiotics would diminish bacterial infections and retard the progress of the disease. Among 155 patients examined, four were found to have hypogammaglobulinemia.2Each of these patients was started on a different therapeutic regimen, which was later changed if necessary. These will be described in detail later. One additional patient (patient 5) with hypogammaglobulinemia was

The nitrofuran derivative now known by the generic name furaltadone and by the trade name Altafur (laboratory code NF-260) was first introduced in October, 1958, by Kefauver, Paberzs, and McNamara 1 under the name "furmethonol" as a potentially useful agent for peroral treatment of systemic bacterial infections. Since that time there have appeared several papers dealing with its antibacterial action in vitro, particular attention being given to the susceptibility of nearly all strains of Staphylococcus aureus including those resistant to the most widely used antibiotics. 2-9 In January, 1960, Christenson and Tracy 10 published a review of 466 cases treated with this drug by various clinicians and collected by the Medical Department of Eaton Laboratories; of 483 infections diagnosed in these cases, 82% were listed as either cured or improved, and only 8% were listed as failures. About onehalf of all these patients were noted as having first failed to

Novobiocin, a newly developed antibiotic that is produced by a species of Streptomyces, was discovered almost simultaneously by two independent groups of investigators.* As reported by Frost and co-workers 3 and Wilkins and co-workers, 4 novobiocin was active in vivo and in vitro against Gram-positive cocci, Proteus, corynebacterium, Pasteurella, and Neisseria. No cross resistance has been found between novobiocin and other clinically useful antibiotics. Although the drug was obtained from two different sources, the common identity of the compound has been established by the infrared absorption spectrum and chemical and biologic methods.† We have used novobiocin in the treatment of 75 patients with various diseases. This paper presents the results obtained. Methods Seventy-three patients were treated at the Research and Educational Hospitals, University of Illinois, and the Westside Veterans Administration Hospital and one case each at Hines Veterans Administration and the Cook County Hospital. We are indebted to the staffs