# Daniel C. Darrow

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**Daniel Cody Darrow** (1895 – June 20, 1965) was an American [pediatrician](/source/Pediatrician) and [clinical biochemist](/source/Clinical_chemistry) whose research focused on fluid and electrolyte balance in the human body. He pioneered the routine use of [intravenous potassium](/source/Potassium_chloride_(medical_use)) in patients after surgery, and in children with [diarrhea](/source/Diarrhea).[1]

## Life and career

Darrow was born in 1895 in [Fargo, North Dakota](/source/Fargo,_North_Dakota); his father was a general surgeon and his mother was a [suffragist](/source/Suffragist).[2] After transferring from the North Dakota State Agricultural College,[3] he graduated from [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) in 1916 and received an M.D. from [Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University) in 1920.[4] As a medical student, he developed [tuberculosis](/source/Tuberculosis) and spent time at a [sanitorium](/source/Sanitorium) in [Saranac Lake, New York](/source/Saranac_Lake,_New_York). After graduating, he became an assistant and then an instructor in the [Johns Hopkins School of Medicine](/source/Johns_Hopkins_School_of_Medicine) pathology department, where he met his wife, [Louise de Schweinitz](/source/Louise_de_Schweinitz_Darrow), who was a medical student at the time.[2]

Darrow became a [pediatric](/source/Pediatric) intern at Yale University Medical Center in 1922 and commenced his pediatric residency at [Boston City Hospital](/source/Boston_City_Hospital) in 1923. He moved to [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis) in 1925 as an instructor in pediatrics at the [School of Medicine](/source/Washington_University_School_of_Medicine) at [Washington University in St. Louis](/source/Washington_University_in_St._Louis), where he began to study the blood volume and [plasma](/source/Blood_plasma) concentration of children and infants who were healthy compared to those who were unwell with dehydration or fever.[2] In 1928, he returned to Yale, where he continued his research into the intracellular and extracellular [fluid compartments](/source/Fluid_compartments). He also developed an interest in the role of [potassium](/source/Potassium) in the human body,[2] and particularly its role in [metabolic alkalosis](/source/Metabolic_alkalosis).[1] His findings led to the routine administration of [intravenous](/source/Intravenous) [potassium](/source/Potassium) to postoperative patients to prevent [ileus](/source/Ileus), and in the treatment of children with [diarrheal](/source/Diarrhea) illness.[2][3]

Darrow received the [John Howland Award](/source/John_Howland_Award) in 1959.[5] He moved to [Wilmington, North Carolina](/source/Wilmington,_North_Carolina), in 1962 as the director of research at the Babies Hospital and an adjunct professor of pediatrics at [Duke University](/source/Duke_University).[4] He died on June 20, 1965, while racing his boat.[2] In a textbook dedication, the pediatrician Donald B. Cheek described Darrow as "a teacher of teachers".[2] In an obituary published in *[The Journal of Pediatrics](/source/The_Journal_of_Pediatrics)*, Robert E. Cooke noted of Darrow that although he was passionate about the education of pediatricians, "He was tolerant of students, but they were rather terrified of him."[3]

## References

1. Schloerb, Paul R. (1966). "The Surgeon's Debt to Daniel C. Darrow". *Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine*. **112** (4): 280–282. [doi:10.1001/archpedi.1966.02090130054003](https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1966.02090130054003). [PMID 5332640](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5332640)

1. Hellerstein, Stanley (1993). "Daniel C. Darrow". *The Journal of Pediatrics*. **123** (5): 833–836. [doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80876-5](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80876-5). [PMID 8229501](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8229501)

1. Cooke, Robert E. (1966). "Daniel C. Darrow, M.D.". *The Journal of Pediatrics*. **69** (3): 490–495. [doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(66)80102-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3476(66)80102-6). [PMID 5329724](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5329724)

1. ["Daniel C. Darrow Collection"](https://medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/collection/daniel-c-darrow-collection/). Chesney Medical Archives, Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved August 18, 2022.

1. Miller, H. C. (1959). "Presentation of the John Howland Medal and Award of the American Pediatric Society to Dr. Daniel C. Darrow". *American Journal of Diseases of Children*. **98** (4): 411–415. [doi:10.1001/archpedi.1959.02070020413001](https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1959.02070020413001). [PMID 14422517](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14422517)

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