A Comparison of the Exercise Response in Various Groups of Neurotic Patients, and a Method of Rapid Determination of Oxygen in Expired Air, Using a Catharometer

Abstract

1. The exercise response to standard work on a bicycle ergometer of five different groups of neurotic patients (E.S. Group 2, E.S. Group 3, somatic anxiety states, anxiety states without demonstrable somatic anxiety, and patients with conversion hysteria) is compared with 20 normal controls, regarding oxygen uptake, lactate rise and pulse area. 2. All five groups are significantly worse than the controls when oxygen uptake is compared, but this differentiation is not so complete with the lactate rise and pulse area. The oxygen uptake figures indicate that poor exercise response is an attribute of neurotic patients in general. 3. A catharometer is a simple, quick and accurrate method for oxygen estimation, and compared with Haldane's method of gas analysis on 22 gas samples gave a product moment correlation of 0.996.