On the presence of dextrose in the exudate of pulmonary edema

Injection of adrenalin causes glycosuria and hyperglycemia. In some instances the animals which receive adrenalin die of pulmonary edema. The chemical composition of the exudate of pulmonary edema has never been investigated. An examination of the exudate of rabbits which died from pulmonary edema after receiving adrenalin revealed the presence of a considerable amount of dextrose. The causation of pulmonary edema by the injection of adrenalin is, however, a matter of mere accident and cannot be relied upon in a systematic study. After various attempts we found that inhalation of ammonia can be fairly well relied upon to produce edema and produce it in a quantity sufficient to make a quantitative test for a reducing substance. The exudate did not clot, which shows that no pure blood was mixed with it. The number of experiments, although not yet large, permits a definite preliminary report. Besides analyzing the pulmonary exudate, in most cases a quantitative analysis of the blood for reducing substances was made and in some instances also of the urine. Pulmonary edema was also produced in two normal animals and in one animal which received an intravenous infusion of dextrose. The results may be briefly summarized as follows: The exudate of pulmonary edema contains dextrose or a reducing substance. The concentration seems to be in general equal to that of the blood. Two hours or longer after an intramuscular injection of adrenalin the exudate of the pulmonary edema may contain 0.5 per cent. and more of dextrose, a quantity, which, at least so far, usually slightly exceeded that of the corresponding blood.