To the Editor:—
In recent years many agents, chemical, physical and biologic, have been recommended for the treatment of pneumonia. In each instance the early experiences were brilliant, marked reductions in death rates and striking therapeutic responses being noted. Quinine and its derivatives, intravenous dextrose, nonspecific protein therapy, vaccines, diathermy, pneumothorax and, most recently, deuteroproteose and roentgen therapy are only a few of those which might be mentioned. In most instances the early reports considered too few cases and did not take into account the most important factors influencing the mortality in this disease. Individual cases or small groups of clinical results were reported with great enthusiasm.The value of some of these agents even now has not been properly assessed. In most instances, however, closer scrutiny and further observations under controlled conditions have shown no particular virtues or life saving values for these various agents and they have not