A introdução da penicilina nos Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal (1944-1946)

The Portuguese Red Cross began to import of penicillin regularly following September 1944. Until June 1945, the humanitarian institution controlled the distribution of the antibiotic, subsequently, due to the increase in world production penicillin began to be imported by means of the pharmaceutical industry. We consulted and analyzed files of patients admitted to Coimbra University Hospitals between September 1944 and August 1946. These files, located in Coimbra University Archive, enabled us to collect information on the introduction of penicillin and on the first cases treated with the antibiotic at these hospitals. In the present paper, we aim to shed some light upon how penicillin was received in one of the main Portuguese central hospitals, the frequency with which it was prescribed, the most common diseases in which the antibiotic was utilized, the dosage administrated, the length of the treatment and the physicians responsible for prescribing the antibiotic.