162 MODERN BIOLOGIC THERAPEUSIS 



fections, especially in conditions in which a bac- 

 teriologic diagnosis is difficult notably, in ar- 

 thritis has been thoroughly established. The 

 test is performed in the usual way as outlined 

 above. The antigen used consists of a bacterial 

 extract prepared from a 24-hour agar growth, 

 washed off with distilled water and autolyzed. 

 A polyvalent antigen made from as many dif- 

 ferent strains of the gonococcus as possible, is 

 essential. 



Practical Value A positive complement fix- 

 ation test is indicative of the presence, or recent 

 activity in the body, of a focus of living gono- 

 cocci. A positive reaction may persist from six 

 to eight weeks after a cure has been effected. 

 Persistently negative results, obtained through 

 a considerable period of time, indicate the prob- 

 ability of a cure. The reaction is seldom posi- 

 tive during the first four to six weeks of an 

 acute anterior or posterior urethritis, in the 

 absence of complications. During the course of 

 an acute or a subacute urethritis, the occurrence 

 of an acute complication such as prostatitis or 

 epidiclymitis is likely to result in a positive fix- 

 ation test. In women, the reaction is seldom 

 positive until the infection has reached the cer- 



