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The possibility that fever may be an early manifestation of colorectal carcinoma was examined. Of 92 consecutive patients, 28 had preoperative fever. In four patients the fever was the presenting symptom of the colonic tumor, and in another six patients it preceded gastrointestinal complaints by 1 week to 4 months. Fever was thus the earliest manifestation of colorectal carcinoma in 10.8% of the patients. In 13 of the 28 patients the fever could not be explained by the intraoperative findings. We suggest that transient bacteremia may be a common but frequently overlooked manifestation of colonic cancer. Prognosis of the patient may be improved by alertness to the possibility that an episode of unexplained fever may be the first, and sometimes the only, manifestation of colorectal carcinoma.

In a survey the food and labour costs arising in connection with the preparation in feeding centers - with about a thousand dinners - of conventionally cooked soups and sauces and corresponding convenience food were determined. For soups food costs are lower for convenience food than for conventionally prepared soups. Regarding the sauces, the costs of one of the two preparation manners is not definetely more favourable than the other one. The cost scheme will shift to the disadvantage of convenience food whenever it has to be modified in default of a comparable product, as for instance in the case of béchamel-sauce and horse-radish sauce. Considering the factor time, convenience food will be unambiguously superior to conventionally cooked soups and sauces. The preparation of convenience soups takes only between one fifth and one eighth of the necessary time for the preparation of conventionally, of sauces only between one sixth and one twelfth of the required time. Soups and sauces made out of convenience food have a lower energy content than the conventionally cooked ones.