To the Editor:—
In the Clinical Notes of The Journal for June 19, 1954, page 737, Dr. Bernard Straus reports three cases of aplastic anemia that he attributes to exposure to carbon tetrachloride. His contention is startling to myself and others with whom I have corresponded since the publication of his article. If Dr. Straus is correct, then Hamilton, Haggard, Henderson, McCord, Kehoe, Princi, Ethel Browning of England, and many others of us in the field of occupational medicine have been most negligent investigators.Out of a large series of patients of my own a great many were hospitalized for study. They received routine blood studies. In no instance was there any significant anemia. In addition to the usual effect on the central nervous system, the findings in those patients who had acute carbon tetrachloride intoxication revealed a fairly high frequency of renal involvement and, to a lesser extent, a