Extracts from a recent New York Hospital Drug Letter

At a recent meeting of the Formulary Committee, the following actions were taken: An application for the admission of a sustained‐release capsule containing granules of ferrous sulfate and small amounts of molybdenum (Mol Iron Chronsules) was brought before the Committee. Experiences with large groups of patients were cited in which the use of this combination was just as effective a hematinic in patients with hypochromic anemia as ferrous sulfate, but caused substantially less constipation and other minor distresses. In the discussion it was brought out that none of the studies cited proved that the molybdenum played any role in the reduced incidence of adverse reaction; that the data supported equally well a contention that it was the particular form of sustained‐release capsule that was responsible, and that no clinical study had been performed to distinguish between the two possibilities.