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The present communication surveys the practical usefulness of 17-ketosteroid assays in clinical medicine. In adhering strictly to this subject, many of the interesting and fundamentally important observations on the chemistry and physiology of the urinary 17-ketosteroids are not discussed. However, references to papers which give this type of information are given whenever possible. Because the usefulness of any laboratory determination depends upon its accuracy and availability a word concerning each of these aspects of assay is pertinent to our subject. Reliable evidence indicates that there are interfering chromogens in urine which, when present in large quantities, may give rise to errors in the commonly used colorimetric assay (Zimmerman reaction). Unless steps are taken to eliminate these errors, they lead to an overestimation of the 17-ketosteroid content. Fortunately, simple procedures for detecting the presence of and for eliminating most of the errors due to these interfering substances have provided reasonably reliable methods of determining the total 17-ketosteroid content of the urine (1–4).2
Talbot et al. (Tue,) studied this question.