Chemoprophylaxis in Pyodermas

Effect of prophylactic use of-antibiotics for preventing staphylococcal infections of skin was studied experimentally. Healthy human volunteers were given pencillin or demethylchlor tetracycline in usual therapeutic doses -and later challenged with staphylococci. In 2 of 3 subjects, the prophylactically given drug could not ;prevent the experimental infection, even though the challenging organisms were sensitive to the respective antibiotics in vitro. When the drug was continued even after the staphylococci were inoculated, 50% showed evidence of clinical infection. Diphtheroids had complete disappearance and staphylococcus epidermidis became resistant to the antibiotic used even though its quantum remained at a constant level.