Cutaneous carbohydrate studies. IV. The skin glucose content of fasting diabetics with and without infection.

Enzymatic analyses of the skin and blood glucose content of fasting diabetic patients without signs of any infection show that: 1. The fasting skin glucose level reflects the blood glucose level which in turn depends upon diabetic control. 2. The ratio of skin to blood glucose is slightly higher in diabetics taking insulin (71%)than in diabetics controlled with tolbutamide or diet alone (69%) and both are statistically higher than in normal persons (55%) (P < 0.01). Comparison of diabetics with cutaneous infection and diabetics without cutaneous infection show that: 1. The presence of cutaneous infection in diabetics does not consistently correlate with higher ratios of skin to blood glucose as measured by the technics used in this study. 2. In certain instances the skin glucose may equal the blood glucose concentration (i.e. skin: mg/100 gm (w.w.)/blood: mg/100 cc (vol.).