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To the Editor:— The emphasis which Lieutenant Pijoan and I intended to place in our paper was on the vehicle and its convenience, not on the incorporated sulfathiazole. Sulfadiazine in dimethoxy cellulose was used without alcohol in an aqueous medium for the treatment of impetigo ( Southwest. Med. 27: 118 [May] 1943) and in the treatment of burns and other infections ( Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. 69: 217 [Aug.] 1941; 71: 304 [Nov.] 1942). In these reports the dimethoxy cellulose was dissolved in water and not in alcohol. The introduction of alcohol was not for its therapeutic action but rather to increase the drying rate, a practical point in convenience. However, dimethoxy cellulose apparently did limit the spread of the infection. In this light the conclusion which we expressed may be considered as not well worded.

The treatment of impetigo contagiosa has always been an acute problem particularly in children, owing to the extreme contagiousness of the disease. This disease has been reported among war refugees 1 and has recently assumed military importance. 2 The etiology of impetigo is somewhat obscure and there is no uniform agreement regarding the agent responsible for the disease. Some 3 regard the streptococcus as the etiologic agent, others 4 believe a virus responsible, but the more general opinion 5 is that staphylococci, so prevalent in the lesions, are responsible for the disease. In spite of the fact that reinfection is common among children, one of us (Pijoan) was unable to infect himself with material from impetiginous lesions in various stages of development. The methods of treating impetigo have been extensive. To the lesions have been applied tinctures of mercurial disinfectants, copper sulfate-zinc, 6 solutions of ferric chloride, 7 boric acid-zinc ointment, 8 staphylococcus toxoid, 9 silver nitrate