Abstract
Summary
Serial observations on 18 patients reveal a rise of carbon dioxide-combining power of the plasma in 8 cases as their clinical status improves with treatment and operation. All values fall within the normal range. The excretion of total titratable acid of the urine in 9 patients on constant diets is reported. In the patients in whom decided improvement occurs shortly after operation, the preoperative amounts are from 2 to 4 times as large as those excreted postoperatively. Excretion of organic acids and ammonia nitrogen were also followed for nearly a month in one patient and in exacerbations of hyperthyroidism her excretion of these substances, as well as of total acid, is seen to rise; urinary pH values fall during exacerbations. In 2 patients who improved promptly following thyroidec-tomy, fall in total acid excretion is accompanied by a rise of alkali reserve; in a third patient who showed little early improvement and only a slight change of total acid excretion, there was no change in carbon dioxide-combining power of the plasma.
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