The very high mortality in cases of severe superficial burns and scalds in children has always occasioned grave concern. Against the mortality due to primary shock (which is comparable to primary traumatic shock) our resources are limited, and the nature of the injury is such that a much lower death rate from this cause is hardly to be expected.
An even higher mortality is encountered from toxic shock, and this condition we believe is more amenable to treatment than primary shock. However, under ordinary methods of treatment, there has been little reduction in the mortality due to toxemia, chiefly because attention
has been directed more to the problems of local treatment than to relief of the early toxemia which frequently results in death. Despite advances made in improving local applications for burned surfaces, the death rate is still distressingly high. We can only come to the conclusion that within certain