BANNERMAN’S INTRAVENOUS SOLUTION
Report of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry
Bannerman’s Intravenous Solution (Wm. Bannerman and Co., Chicago) was refused recognition because vague, indefinite and misleading statements were made regarding its composition, because it was recommended for anemia, tuberculosis and syphilis under grossly exaggerated and unwarranted claims and because the intravenous injection of complex and indefinite mixtures is unscientific and dangerous. Notice of the action of the Council having been sent to the Bannerman Company, the firm submitted a revised statement of composition and also a revised advertising circular.
The claim is made that Bannerman’s Intravenous Solution “is a compound of only the purest and proven efficient U. S. P. drugs.” According to the latest statement:
| Each 10 c.c. of Bannerman’s Solution contains: | ||||
Hydrargyri Albuminas Mercury Content | 1 | 1-9 | Gr. or | 0.075 Gm. |
Ferri Albuminas Iron Content | 4 | 1-4 | Grs. or | 0.286 Gm. |
Sodii Chloridum | 6 | 1-5 | Grs. or | 0.412 Gm. |
Calcii Salicylicum | 4 | Grs. or | 0.26 Gm. | |
Guaiacol | 4 | Grs. or | 0.26 Gm. | |
Creosote (Beechwood) | 5 | Grs. or | 0.32 Gm. | |
The solvent is said to be distilled water.
The formula is unsatisfactory in several particulars. The stated amounts of some of the ingredients are in excess of their solubility in water; the nature and amount of albumin contained in the “Hydrargyri Albuminas” and “Ferri Albuminas” are not given; the claim that the solution contains only U. S. P. drugs is not true. But the main objection to the preparation is its unscientific character and the unwarranted therapeutic claims made for it.
Even though a patient had all three diseases, syphilis, tuberculosis and anemia, it would be most irrational to use a shotgun prescription, containing, in fixed unvarying proportions, mercury for the syphilis, iron for the anemia and germicides for the tuberculosis. In syphilis the mercury-content of Bannerman’s Solution is inadequate; in anemia the intravenous administration of iron is unwarranted, and in tuberculosis there is no evidence that the injection of bactericides is efficient.