To the Editor:—
The article "Black Tongue Associated with Penicillin Therapy," by Samuel A. Wolfson, M.D., which appeared in The Journal (140:1206 [Aug. 13] 1949) states that the author had found no reference to this condition in American journals. This disorder was described by me under the title "Black Tongue" in Conn's "Current Therapy" (Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company, 1949), wherein it was pointed out that black tongue may be precipitated by the use of penicillin orally, which seems to upset the biologic balance of organisms in the mouth, allowing chromogenic bacteria or fungi to multiply.Sutton and Sutton, in "Diseases of the Skin" (ed. 10, St. Louis, C. V. Mosby Company) reported a similar observation by Burgheim, who noted black tongue following the administration of sulfanilamide to a patient with gonorrhea, which disappeared when treatment with this drug was discontinued.