Terminal Uræmia: With Notes on the Prevalence of Renal Disease Amongst the Insane

Abstract

The high incidence of chronic interstitial nephritis at post-mortem examinations at the East Sussex County Mental Hospital prompted an investigation into the urea content of the cerebro-spinal fluid. In the years 1926-29, some 68% of all deaths have had post-mortem examinations performed, totalling over 200 autopsies, and a series of 60 successive results are tabulated below (Table I), giving the following details: (1)The sex of the patient.(2)The age.(3)The interval between death and the estimation of the urea content of the cerebro-spinal fluid.(4)The result of the estimation.(5)The mental diagnosis.(6)Macroscopic evidence of gross renal disease (+ or −).(7)Other gross macroscopical abnormalities.