Studies in which the basal metabolism is utilized as a quantitative index of the degree of intoxication in cases of toxic goiter have been reported from the thyroid clinic of the Massachusetts General Hospital, on the results obtained from the use of various therapeutic procedures commonly employed in these conditions. These have included the effect of rest, of quinin hydrobromate and of roentgen rays, and the later effects of surgical treatment.1
It is generally recognized that the clinical improvement following successful subtotal thyroidectomy is a relatively rapid one. The purpose of the present paper is to express this improvement precisely by means of daily basal metabolism and pulse rate curves, and thus to show the actual rate of detoxication in quantitative terms.
In the literature are numerous references to the ultimate effect of various surgical procedures on the course of the disease using basal metabolism and pulse as measures