THE COMPARATIVE ACTIONS OF ATROPINE AND ITS CONSTITUENTS, l AND dHYOSCYAMINE, IN INFANTS AND VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

¹ From the Department of Pediatrics of the School of Medicine, Western Reserve University, and of City Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio

The central action of the alkaloids atropine and l and d hyoscyamine, as noted, was observed in but one subject, who was made drowsy by unusually large doses of each of them, the size of the doses having about the same ratio as was required to produce the peripheral actions. This phenomenon of deep sleep has been noted after large doses of atropine in other tolerant—and only in tolerant—young children. In none of them had there been any preceding mental or motor excitation, which is the early manifestation of atropine poisoning. Such excitation occurs now and then from the usual therapeutic dose of atropine. No soporific action has been observed from the usual dose of atropine but such is reported by Rominger and Krüger (4) when atropine was used as an antispasmodic in infants, as in pylorospasm, and may have been a result solely of lessening the pain of colic; but my colleague, Dr. Otto Goehle, has not infrequently noted sound sleep after atropine when there had been no evidence of pain as well as when pain may have been present.