[Increased level of tryptophan fluorescence in the blood serum in generalized suppurative infection]

It was established in animal experiments that in generalization of purulent infection, the most probable sources of the increased blood serum tryptophan content, determined by the fluorescence method, are the muscles, lungs, and, to a lesser measure, the liver, which are invaded by P. aeruginosa and St. aureus. The increase of the level of tryptophan fluorescence in blood serum, which is encountered in generalization of purulent infection, does not correlate with the level of cortisol, insulin, and proteolytic activity in the blood; it also does not occur in pyrogenal-induced fever.