Screening Day-Old Blood Specimens for Hyperglycemia

Abstract

W ITH the improved control of communicable diseases in the United States, medical and health organizations have increasingly focused their attention on the control and curtailment of chronic malfunctions. Among these is diabetes mellitus. Early diagnosis and management of diabetes improve prognosis, and therefore, means for its early discovery are highly desirable. Through various promotional and educational measures, people are encouraged to submit voluntarily to blood sugar testing in mass screening programs designed to detect hyperglycemic individuals within a population. In these programs, on the thesis that individuals with elevated blood sugar are prone to diabetes, persons whose blood sugar exceeds a prescribed level are referred to their physicians for study and diagnosis. Positive cases so disclosed have yielded a number of previously unknown diabetics. Diabetes screening, consequently, has gained steadily in favor as a valuable adjunct to public health programs. The effectiveness of this kind of mass screening has unfortunately been limited by lack of public participation. A steady flow of screenees, preferably large in number, is desirable if not essential for the success of such a program. Therefore, a means of screening which would be independent of the public's whim to participate would have its advantages. Blood specimens received by public health laboratories for serologic testing for syphilis