A Useful Digitalis Tincture

To the Editor, Indian Medical Gazette. Sir,?In my article " Clinical Studies on Digitalis in Bengal," which appeared in the Indian Medical Gazette of April 1924, it was stated as a result of therapeutic tests on a large series of cases of heart failure in Calcutta that there is 110 tincture of digitalis that acts in the dose of 5 to 8 drms. as in "Europe and America. On the other hand, it was essential and imperative to use massive doses of 2 drms.. every day for 8 or 10 days before any conspicuous bene'it was obtained. Several months before this article appeared, the writer, was in communication with Messrs. Parke Davis & Co., as a result of which several samples of a new and extremely potent tincture were generously placed at the disposal of the writer. Carefully controlled clinical trials were given on a fairly large number of cases of heart failure, with or without auricular fibrillation. The results were uniformly good and most of the cases developed minor toxic digitalis effects directly a total dose of 5 drms. in S days was reached. Later on, some samples of this new tincture were biologically assayed and the results as worked out by Major R. N. Chopra and Captain P. De and the writer revealed that the same potency was found 011 cats; in fact, 1 cat-unit was contained in less than 1 c.c. of this tincture. Therefore making allowance for the effects of climate and the delay in the drug being administered in India, there still remains adequate potency to yield results with the same doses as worked out in Europe and America.