Serum magnesium levels in chronic renal failure. Clinical significance and correlation with sodium potassium and calcium.

Fifty cases with chronic renal failure and 25 age and sex matched normal healthy controls were studied. The mean serum magnesium level was significantly higher (4.10 +/- 0.85 mg/dl) in the patients as compared to controls (2.40 +/- 0.14 mg/dl; p less than 0.001) and levels rose progressively with deterioration in renal function. Significantly higher serum magnesium levels were observed in patients of chronic renal failure with encephalopathy than in those without. Greater the impairment in level of consciousness, higher was the magnesium level. Improvement in neurological status correlated well with fall in serum magnesium level. The fall was significantly higher in patients on dialysis as compared to non-dialysed patients. Serum magnesium is a worthwhile tool in assessing duration of disease, morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic renal failure. Its estimation may help in evaluating conservative treatment and dialysis in chronic renal failure.

Serum copper in myocardial infarction--diagnostic and prognostic significance.

Serum copper estimations were carried out in 44 cases of acute myocardial infarction, 23 cases of angina and 40 age and sex matched healthy controls. A highly significant degree of rise in serum copper levels was observed in patients with acute myocardial infarction as compared to cases of angina and controls. The levels showed a gradual rise with peak on 7th day followed by a gradual decline returning to normal on 28th day. The pattern was the same both in complicated and uncomplicated cases except that values were still higher on the 28th day in complicated cases of acute myocardial infarction. Mean peak serum copper levels were significantly higher (p less than .001) in complicated cases of acute myocardial infarction as compared to uncomplicated cases. Significant correlation was found between serial serum copper changes and creatinine phosphokinase and lactic dehydrogenase levels. The prognostic and diagnostic significance of serum copper has been discussed.

A study of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy in hepatic coma complicating acute viral hepatitis.

Thirty cases of viral hepatitis with and without coma and 15 normal healthy age and sex matched controls were studied for disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). Cases of viral hepatitis with coma showed strong evidence of DIC in the form of increased plasma FDP (240 +/- 190.64 dilution), diminished fibrinogen half life (48.1 +/- 15.3 hours) and increased fractional catabolic rate (46.13 +/- 14.7% per day) with normal Euglobulin clot lysis time and reduced fibrinogen (147.33 +/- 43.5%) and platelet count (1.27 +/- 0.324 lakhs/cm.). The possible role of heparin in the reversal of coagulation abnormalities have been discussed.

A study of pancreatic enzymes by duodenal intubation in normal subjects after prostigmine administration.

Twenty healthy subjects have been selected for the present study. There was significant parallelism between trypsin and lipase secretion but frequent dissociation between trypsin and amylase. Lower values of pancreatic volume, bicarbonate and enzymes secretion as compared to the Western reports are explained by the lower weight of Indians in comparison to Western people. Prostigmine an inexpensive and reliable alternative to pancreozmin is recommended for routine clinical studies of pancreatic enzymes.

Urinary indican in healthy Indian subjects.

Forty normal subjects have been taken for the present study. The mean Indican excretion was 40.45 mg/24 hrs. The mean jejunal count was 1.96 x 10(3) +/- 5.39 x 10(3) organisms/ml and 40% of the jejunal aspirates were sterile. Wide range of bacteria were cultured bu the coliform organisms were obtained in only 16.6%. There was a significant correlation between Indican excretion and total bacterial count (P less than .01).