“Spirocide” (The Spirocide Corporation of New York) is advertised as a new and successful treatment of syphilis by fumigation and inhalation. According to the information presented to the Council, Spirocide is a mechanical mixture of metallic mercury 25 per cent., copper sulphate 25 per cent., cypress cones 20 per cent., henna 20 per cent., nut gall 5 per cent., and dried pomegranate 5 per cent. It is supplied in the form of greenish-gray tablets weighing about 10 gm. each, and containing, therefore, about 2.5 gm. (about 38 grains) of mercury. It is sold in packages of six tablets.
The following directions for its use are contained in a pamphlet recently distributed:
“Spirocide is administered by means of fumigation and inhalation. The patient is disrobed to the waist and placed in a light chair, preferably with arms. A pastil or tablet of Spirocide is placed on a small plate, or open receptacle, after being ignited by holding in a gas or alcohol flame for a minute or so until it begins to smoulder. The plate with the burning Spirocide is then placed on the floor between the patient’s feet or just under the chair. A small shelf or platform between the lower rounds of the chair is an excellent location for the plate containing the burning mass. When all is in position a sheet should be thrown over the patient and arranged to enclose the whole. The patient should breathe naturally and inhale the vapor, which will rise and fill the canopy surrounding him. The treatment will require 15 to 30 minutes, or until the Spirocide is burned up. The patient may complain at first of a slight choking sensation, and there may be some tendency to cough. This can be removed by raising the sheet long enough to let in a little clear air. The eyes should be closed or lightly bandaged to avoid smarting.”
Experiments conducted in the A. M. A. Chemical Laboratory show that Spirocide, when ignited, burns slowly with consequent volatilization of mercury. The several organic constituents serve as fuel and the copper sulphate possibly acts as a regulator of the combustion. During the burning process the cypress cones, henna, etc., are consumed but most, if not all, the copper remains behind, the mercury only being vaporized. It is asserted in the advertising pamphlet that Spirocide is indicated in all stages of syphilis, primary, secondary and tertiary, and in all its complications or sequelae. In these varying conditions one tablet daily or every other day is recommended until six treatments have been taken, though it is stated that “occasionally, depending on the severity or the duration of the disease, it may be wise to give nine treatments, the last three at intervals of two, three or more days.”
Some of the results which it is claimed are obtained with Spirocide are:
“At the completion of this course of treatment with Spirocide, all signs or evidences of syphilis are removed, and in ten days to three months all Wassermann tests prove negative. Any further treatments than the original course of fumigations are rarely needed. Wassermann’s will be found uniformly negative after a period which, according to the patient, may vary from ten days to three months. These results have been obtained in cases in which Salvarsan and kindred preparations have been employed without the slightest benefit.”
In a letter to the Council the “scientific observer” of the Spirocide Corporation declared:
“We do not claim that the vaporization method is new. We do claim, however, that this combination of mercury produces more rapid volatilization, certain absorption and undoubted effect than any form of mercury administered by any method known to science without the usual danger. That this is so we are willing to prove by comparison with other methods both by ourselves and many observers scattered over the United States....”
To determine the validity of the claims made for Spirocide, the Corporation was asked to present the evidence which it offered. In reply, the corporation’s “scientific observer,” Dr. J. Lewengood, submitted 83 case reports from a number of different observers, including those from military hospitals and a state institution, and also a reprint of an article published by him in the New York Medical Journal, Feb. 21, 1920, wherein were reported eight cases which received “Spirocide Treatment.” In no case were controls with other methods of mercury administration carried out.
This material the Council sent to two recognized syphilographers for an opinion. One of the consultants reported that of the 83 cases, 20 dealt with patients who had also received arsphenamin medication and, therefore, these 20 cases could not be considered as evidence concerning the value of Spirocide. As to the remaining cases, he found on the whole that the history and data furnished were far from sufficient to warrant the claims made. In many of the cases emphasis was laid on the Wassermann test, as though this test were the only thing to be considered in a case of syphilis. He pointed out that in one case the reaction changed from negative to strongly positive after six treatments and that in several cases the phenomena reported cannot be explained by anything else than a desire to get a negative blood test. For example, one case had Spirocide treatment and a Wassermann, 1 plus, 55 days after; the author then reports that 19 days later the reaction had become negative and, therefore, the change must be due to Spirocide. In several of the cases reported it is even questionable if the patients were syphilitic. The consultant concluded that the evidence submitted by the Spirocide Corporation failed to prove the claims made for Spirocide. He pointed out on the other hand that patients readily become salivated from the use of Spirocide, often after 8 or 10 treatments.