A Note on the Value of the Ascitic Fluid for the Wassermann Reaction and Agglutination Tests with Dysentery Organisms *Rearranged by Editor.

-The material in this paper was collected during an investigation into the causation of ascites (Radhakrishna Rao, 1932) and subsequently during a study on decompensated Portal cirrhosis, in the medical wards of the -King George Hospital, Vizagapatam. ?In all the patients who were admitted with ascites into the medical wards of the King George Hospital, Vizagapatam, the Wassermann Reactions and the agglutination tests (with dysentery organisms), of the blood and ascitic nuid, were done as a routine, in addition to the other investigations. This short note is based ?n a study to find out how far the results obtained with ascitic fluid are valuable in these tests, as compared with those obtained from the blood serum. The results are summarized in tables I and II. In most of the cases specimens of the blood and the ascitic (aseptically drawn) were taken for examination at the same time; while in the others, there was only a short interval between the examination of the blood and the ascitic fluid. It will be seen that out of the 60 cases, in which the Wassermann reactions of the blood and the ascitic fluid are compared, the results of the latter tally exactly with those of the former in 37 cases. However, if the -]?fand -fresults and the (?) and ?ive results, respectively, are grouped, it will be seen that there is agreement in 51 out of 60 cases.