STATISTICS OF EXPERIMENTS. 



17 



Table 4. Experiments with diabetics, 190S-1911. 



Experiments with six of these cases are reported both in this publication and in Publication No. 136. 



CASE A. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE. 



Male; born May 2, 1860; single; traveling salesman; developed diabetes in 

 1900; came under our observation in October 1908; died August 24, 1910. 

 Full details regarding the history of this case and its treatment previous to 1910 

 may be found in an earlier publication. 1 



Later history of the case. During the winter of 1909-10 the patient was in 

 a comfortable condition, and on March 1, 1910 felt quite well. He reported at 

 this time that he had been able to work and that his friends considered that he 

 looked better than he had for two years. The quantity of urine varied from 

 2.5 to 3 liters. His diet contained approximately 60 grams of carbohydrate, 

 with 8 grams of sodium bicarbonate. In June 1910 abscesses developed in the 

 right ear, and later a furuncle in the occipital region. In the latter part of 

 July there was considerable edema of the right ankle, but this decreased when 

 the sodium bicarbonate was discontinued in the early part of August. In this 

 month the diet was relaxed considerably, the patient eating cantaloupe and 

 watermelon at noon and peaches at night. Constipation was a troublesome 

 symptom, but the strength was fairly good. A physical examination made 

 August 5 showed a weight of 48.6 kilos, without clothes; temperature, 99.1 F.; 

 blood-pressure, 150; pulse-rate, 108; heart of normal size and free from mur- 

 murs; liver not enlarged; pupils equal and reacting to light; knee-jerks normal; 

 moderate edema of the ankles. In the upper right chest a few rales could be 

 heard extending down to about the fourth interspace. There was also a slight 

 cough. Later, August 8, 1910, the findings in the chest were confirmed. The 

 patient was last seen on August 22, 1910, soon after his return from a visit in 

 the country, during which he had suffered from gastric indigestion. As a 

 result of this he had ceased eating, omitted the sodium bicarbonate, and symp- 

 toms of coma appeared, as was evident from his report of difficult breathing 

 upon August 20. He was slightly more comfortable on August 22, but air- 

 hunger was manifest. At this time the pulse-rate was 100, the temperature 

 normal; the acetone odor was absent from the breath. The patient died on 

 August 24, 1910. 



Urine data. Only a few observations were made of the urine, and unfor- 

 tunately these are not of great significance, as the patient's diet was not under 



Benedict and Joslin, Metabolism in diabetes mellitus, Carnegie Institution of Wash- 

 ington Publication No. 136, 1910, p. 30. 



