John G. Reinhold

Liver function tests in morphine-addicted and in nonaddicted rhesus monkeys.

Summary Liver function tests performed in 31 Macaca mulatta monkeys addicted to parenteral morphine and compared with 25 nonaddicts in the same colony do not support the concept of a marked hepatotoxic effect of morphine addiction. Data derived from the control animals may serve as standards of reference for future studies utilizing hhis species.

Factors Influencing the Reliability of Hepatic Turbidity and Flocculation Tests in the Differential Diagnosis of Obstructive Jaundice

To distinguish obstructive from hepatocellular jaundice often requires laboratory aid to supplement clinical judgment. The turbidity and flocculation tests are recognized as being particularly useful for this purpose. As newer techniques of this type have been introduced, for example the zinc turbidity method and the substitution of pH 7.55 buffer for pH 7.S in thymol tests, their sensitivity in detecting slight liver damage has increased. Several studiesl 3 have shown the superiority of these modifications for diagnosing subclinical hepatitis and for screening blood donors to detect possible virus carriers. It has been suggested4 that in obstructive jaundice, which often is associated with some degree of secondary liver cell damage, these highly sensitive tests might also give abnormal results more often than some of the older turbidity and flocculation methods. If this proved to be so, it might make the newer techniques less useful than the older ones as aids in differentiating between obstructive and hepatocellular jaundice. To answer this question the present study was undertaken. In 154 patients with obstructive jaundice the results of six hepatic turbidity and flocculation tests were compared with one another. These findings were contrasted with results reported for these tests in other studies of patients with hepatocellular jaundice. The effect of such factors as the duration and intensity of jaundice on the test responses also was analyzed. It was found that the more sensitive turbidity and flocculation tests are as effective as the older, less sensitive ones for differentiating jaundice caused by obstruction from that caused by liver disease.