In a previous publication1 a preliminary report was made of a study of the basal metabolism of tuberculous children which is being carried out in the pediatric service of the Sea View Hospital. This report was concerned especially with the metabolism of patients with afebrile pulmonary tuberculosis.
Of 115 children with active afebrile tuberculosis of the adult, or reinfection, type, 92, or 80 per cent had a normal basal metabolic rate (between + 10 and− 10 per cent). In this respect the results agreed in the main with those reported in the literature for adults with afebrile pulmonary tuberculosis.
Of 143 children with active afebrile tuberculosis of the primary, or childhood, type, only 6, or 4 per cent, had a normal basal metabolic rate. The remaining 137 children, or 96 per cent, had a rate above + 10 per cent. The standard used was that of von Pirquet,2 which is