BLOOD CHEMISTRY STUDIES IN INFLUENZAL PNEUMONIA

Abstract

Heretofore studies in blood chemistry have chiefly been confined to cases presenting evidences of renal involvement. Cases of pneumonia and other infectious diseases have received little attention in this direction. This is due to the assumption that such studies would be of little value, and partly also to the relative newness of the subject of blood chemistry. This report sets forth the findings in 131 specimens of blood from sixty-one cases of influenzal pneumonia, representing various degrees of severity, and obtained on various days of the disease. The results were obtained from forty-two nonfatal cases and sixteen fatal cases, thirteen patients receiving intravenous injections of hypertonic glucose solution and six cases receiving intravenous injections of foreign protein. Nonfatal Cases: Table 1 includes the blood chemistry findings in forty-two nonfatal cases, arranged according to the day of the disease on which the blood was examined. In a few of these cases