SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENT OF D-XYLOSE AND BUTTER-FAT ABSORPTION USING MICROMETHODS

Most intestinal absorption tests require collections of stool or urine. Measuring the five-hour urinary excretion of D-xylose presents difficulties in very young subjects; catheterization may be required for accurate collections, and xylose excretion may depend on the volume of urine excreted during the test.In this study, D-xylose absorption was measured by the blood tolerance curve, and the determination of D-xylose concentration in whole blood was adapted to a microtechnique. Butter-fat absorption was determined by the timed change in serum turbidity after an oral dose of 0.5 g. butter-fat/kg. (as 15% cream). It was possible to administer the D-xylose (1.1 g./kg.) and butter-fat together without significant interference by either substance with absorption of the other. Both determinations could then be performed on capillary blood samples obtained by finger-prick at timed intervals. Results in normal subjects and in malabsorptive states indicate that the method provides a valuable screening procedure and a useful measure of progress during therapy.

PULMONARY MANIFESTATIONS OF PARASITIC INFESTATIONS

Parasitic infestations in man may cause transient or permanent pulmonary lesions. The lesions occur during migration and evolution of the parasites, during parasitemia, or during the final habitat. These manifestations, though infrequent in Canadian medical practice, present difficulties in diagnosis. Life cycles, mode of entry, and migration of parasites in the human body are described and illustrative case histories presented. In this series, transient pulmonary changes were associated with Ascaris lumbricoides, Ankylostoma duodenale, filariasis, Giardia lamblia and Trichinella spiralis; permanent lesions were produced by Entameba histolytica and Tenia echinococcus. Other parasites which may produce pulmonary changes are Strongyloides stercoralis and several types of Filaria (transient); Schistosoma, Paragonimus westermani (permanent). A case of amebiasis is presented illustrating the latent stage of infestation which lasted several decades before the organism spread from bowel to para-aortic nodes, to the lumen of the inferior cava, thence to the radicles of the portal vein and lung.