Hemotherapy

HEMOTHERAPY (from Greek haima-blood and therapeia-treatment), treatment with blood. H. is widely used in various diseases. The theoretical basis for H. consists of two main points, which in different phases of its action can be combined or, conversely, act independently. 1. The replacement value - transplantation of functioning blood tissue. 2. The stimulating effect on various organs and tissues (e.g., hematopoietic organs, reticulo-endothelial system) with the aim of increasing their function. -Methods of H.: 1) isohemotherapy, 2) autogenous hemotherapy, 3) heterohemotherapy. Isohemotherapy - the use of native or altered (defibrinated, citrated to counteract its clotting, etc.) homologous blood for intravenous administration, as well as for intraperitoneal administration (see Blood Transfusion). More rarely, unaltered blood is administered intramuscularly into the gluteal region (Pappenheim, Klemperer, Gobell and others)-dose up to 50 cubic cm or under the skin-up to 10 cubic cm (Ziemssen); defibrinated blood is used subcutaneously. Such stimulating therapy in most cases causes a slight increase in temperature (37° with tenths), is often accompanied by chills, headache, and vasomotor phenomena (redness of the face, sensation of heat, etc.). The blood group (according to Moss-Jansky) of the donor and recipient is determined only in cases of intravenous blood transfusion. The administration of defibrinated blood, which causes a sharp reaction (increase in temperature, chills, sometimes shock), especially with intravenous administration, in doses up to 100 cubic cm is rarely used at present. -Autogenous hemotherapy. (see.)-administration of one's own blood. Doses up to 50 cubic cm intramuscularly, subcutaneously-up to 10 cubic cm. Reinfusion of one's own blood (according to Thießy and Lichtenstein) from the abdominal cavity (ruptures of the spleen, ectopic pregnancy, etc.) is administered intravenously in an amount depending on the volume of spilled blood and corresponding technical conditions. -Heterohemotherapy - treatment of humans with animal blood (sheep, monkey, bull)-has the aim of delivering to the body substances it lacks, mainly Hb. It is used in the form of taking fresh native blood orally or in the form of various pharmaceutical preparations, e.g., hematogen, etc., and has been proposed for various exhausting conditions, such as tuberculosis, childhood anemias, and after infections, etc. According to reports from travelers (Nansen and others), among the peoples of polar countries, fresh blood of reindeer, seals, and other animals prevents the development of scurvy. -H. in a broader sense represents treatment not only with blood but also with its constituent parts. Used are: autoerythrocytotherapy (treatment with erythrocytes isolated by sedimentation from blood plasma, Lintvariev), leukotherapy (treatment with extracts of leukocytes from exudate of the pleural cavity, formed in a rabbit under the influence of aleuronate injection); treatment with Coagulen' Kocher-Fonio (extract from blood plates) and others. -Local application of H. has been known since the time of Dioscorides (100 years before the Christian era), who proposed treating bleeding wounds with fresh pigeon blood. Some authors currently use tampons made of fresh animal blood. Indications for the use of H.: acute and chronic severe blood loss, hemolytic anemias during relapse (e.g., malignant anemia), severe anemias-on the basis of sepsis, cancer, avitaminosis, occupational hazards,-anemias associated with impaired blood clotting and bleeding time (hemophilia, Werlhof's disease). In these cases, the patient's life can be saved by immediate blood transfusion-as replacement therapy. In moderately severe anemias with a chronic course, success is often achieved from repeated intramuscular injections of blood-up to 50 cubic cm (isohemotherapy and autogenous hemotherapy). In pediatric practice, the repeated administration of the patient's own blood or, more often, the mother's blood in small amounts (up to 2 cubic cm) is indicated, especially in sepsis, melena of newborns, in dystrophies, erysipelas, pyodermias, and other purulent diseases to raise immunity. The prescription of H. in the form of intramuscular and intravenous injections should be considered contraindicated in exudative forms of tuberculosis of the lungs and kidney diseases-due to the danger of activating the pathological process, as well as in cases where blood examination shows a complete loss of the body's regenerative capacity.