The Weltmann Reaction in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In 1930, Oskar Weltmann¹ introduced a new serum coagulation reaction to distinguish exudative from fibrotic processes in the body, and since its discovery, it has been employed routinely in many European Clinics. There is a great deal of valuable literature on the subject, but singularly enough, very little is reported in the American literature. It is the purpose of this study to determine the value of the Weltmann reaction in establishing the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis and in following the progress of such cases.

TECHNIC

The test is simple to perform and requires very little apparatus. The result can be determined within 20 to 25 minutes. From a stock 10 per cent calcium chloride solution (ca cl₂—6H₂O), ten dilutions are made up, varying from 0.1 per cent to 0.01 per cent. Five cc. of each dilution is pipetted into each of ten tubes. Ordinary Wassermann tubes may be used, and the tubes numbered from 1 to 10, beginning with the strongest dilution. Into each tube pipette 1/10 of a cc. of the unhemolyzed serum to be tested. The contents are mixed thoroughly and the tubes placed in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. They then are removed, and the test is read. The contents of the tubes may be clear, faintly opalescent, turbid, or there may be flocculation. The number of tubes in which flocculation occurs is designated by Weltmann as the coagulation band of the particular serum tested, i.e., W. C. B. = number of. . .