VI.—Case recorded by Dr. Robert Miller, Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company (Advocate of India, Bombay, January 15, 1902).
“On the evening of October 23 I was called to a coolie woman, who had been bitten by a large cobra about 7 o’clock; some two hours had already elapsed since the accident. The woman was, so to speak, moribund, unconscious, and suffering from paralysis of the throat, after having exhibited all the characteristic symptoms of poisoning by cobra-venom. I immediately injected 10 c.c. of Calmette’s serum, without any hope of a successful result, however, so desperate did the condition of the patient appear. The effect of the serum was marvellous; fifteen minutes later she regained consciousness. I gave a fresh injection of 10 c.c., and three hours after the first the patient was out of danger. Dr. Sen, my assistant-surgeon, was present. I have forwarded a note of this case to Dr. L. Rogers, Professor of Pathology at the Calcutta Medical College.”
VII.—Case recorded by Captain H. A. L. Howell, R.A.M.C. (British Medical Journal, January 25, 1902).
“Shortly before 4 p.m. on November 17, 1901, Lance-Corporal G., Royal Scots, was bitten on the right forefinger by a snake. On being brought to hospital, Assistant-Surgeon Raymond tied a tight ligature round the finger, scarified the wound, and applied a strong solution of calcium chloride. On my arrival I found the patient apparently quite well, and not at all alarmed. As I could get no information as to the nature of the snake, I injected into the patient’s flank at 4.30 p.m. 3 c.c. of Calmette’s serum, and sent for the snake, which was the property of one of the men in barracks. The snake was brought to me just before 6 p.m., and I found it to be a cobra about 3½ feet long, of the pale-coloured variety that natives call Brahmini cobra. I at once injected 7 c.c. of Calmette’s serum into the other flank. The patient thus received one full dose of serum. The ligature was removed from the finger, which was swollen and very painful.
“Up to half an hour after the bite the patient, a healthy and powerful man, presented no abnormal symptoms: pulse, respiration, pupils, temperature, and general appearance, all were normal. His pulse and respiration began to increase in frequency, and the pulse became very compressible, but quite regular. After the first injection of serum his temperature was 98° F., pulse full, high tension, regular, 88, and respirations greatly increased in frequency. He now became very drowsy, and had to be roused when the second injection of serum was given. Soon after this the patient’s general condition and pulse improved.... He had complete loss of sensation in the bitten finger, in the part terminal to the site of the puncture, for some days.... The injection of Calmette’s serum gave rise to no local reaction, and caused no pain. It did not affect the temperature, but was followed in half an hour by perspiration, which was very profuse four hours after the injection.... The patient made a complete recovery.... The serum used in this case was fresh, having been prepared at Lille in July, 1901.”
VIII.—Note of case treated by Major Rennie, R.A.M.C., transmitted by M. Klobukowski, French Consul-General at Calcutta, September 5, 1899:—
“A remarkable cure effected by Major Rennie, by means of Calmette’s method, has just taken place at Meerut. Since the introduction of this remedy three years ago, its efficacy has been abundantly proved, but the present case is especially interesting, since it seems to show that the serum can be successfully employed even in cases apparently desperate. The well-known symptoms of poisoning by cobra-venom were already so advanced that the patient, who was insensible, was kept alive by artificial respiration in order to give time for the serum to be absorbed and to take effect.
“The truth of the above statements is attested by six doctors, and is also vouched for by the Commissioner and Magistrate of the military cantonment, who, although not medical men, have, nevertheless, had long experience of Indian matters.”
IX.—Case recorded by Binode Bihari Ghosal, Assistant-Surgeon, Jangipur (“A Case of Snake-bite [Cobra?].—Recovery,” Indian Medical Gazette, January, 1905, p. 18).
“While fastening her door about 10 o’clock one night a Hindu woman was bitten by a cobra in the left foot, about 1 inch above the metatarso-phalangeal joints of the second and third toes. About ten minutes after the bite natives applied three strong ligatures, one above the ankle, one below, and one above the knee-joint. Four hours later ‘Fowl’ treatment was applied, which it appears gives marvellous results. The author arrived about nine hours after the accident, during the ‘Fowl’ treatment, for which nineteen chickens had already been sacrificed. In spite of this the patient was pulseless (no radial pulse—the brachial pulse was thready and flickering); respiration about six per minute. An injection of strychnine improved her condition for a few minutes. When the incision, which had been made over the bite, was crucially enlarged, large quantities of dark blood were withdrawn by cupping. In spite of this the patient’s condition grew worse, and her respiration fell to three a minute; she then received an injection of 10 c.c. of Calmette’s serum in the left buttock. The pulse immediately became stronger, and respiration increased to ten per minute. About half an hour after the first, a fresh injection of 10 c.c. of serum was given in the same place. Within five minutes the appearance of the patient, who had seemed to be dying, became normal. The pulse grew stronger, and respiration was about fifteen per minute. One hour after the injections the patient was practically cured.