In the preceding paper 1 the clinical findings in thirty-one patients with edema, believed to be nutritional in nature, are reported. In addition to an initial determination of the serum proteins in thirty-one patients with edema, repeated determinations were made in eleven cases over periods of from a few weeks to more than a year, under varying conditions of diet and treatment. Studies of nitrogen balance were made in two cases. The results of these studies are reported in this paper.
METHODS
With two exceptions, the subjects were studied and followed exclusively in the outpatient department.
Serum Proteins.
—The initial determinations of serum protein were made in some instances at the time the patient was first seen; more often they were made a few days later, and frequently at a time when the edema was lessening. The blood was obtained after an overnight fast or several hours after a light