The Use of Formalin and Alcohol in the Estimation of Prostatic Phosphatase

Abstract

The total and formalin-resistant serum acid phosphatase concn. was detd. on 77 healthy individuals and 259 hospital patients and the effect of 40% alcohol on the serum acid phosphatase level was studied with 116 hospital patients and 70 healthy individuals. In the healthy males, the range for total acid phosphatase was 1.8-5.3 units per 100 cc; mean, 3.6; standard deviation 0.79. Corresponding figures for the formalin-resistant enzyme were 0.7-5.1 units, mean, 2.3, standard deviation, 0.74. The effect of alcohol on the serum acid phosphatase among the healthy individuals was variable. In 56% of the cases, activity fell to 2.0, while in the rest it was either unchanged or increased; the highest increase found was 2.1. The formalin procedure proved useful in elucidating the diagnosis in some cases where the total estimation gave misleading results, but it was not uniformly successful. Nevertheless, the simplicity of the formalin technic, the elimination of errors due to hemolysis and the higher significance of the values obtained earn it a place in the routine clinical laboratory.