[Assessment of the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate content of erythrocytes in diabetes mellitus].

The content of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) was studied in the red blood cells of 145 patients with diabetes mellitus. A significant (P less than 0.001) increase in 2,3-DPG (8.10 +/- 0.42 mc mol/l of red blood cells) was seen in the diabetic patients as compared with that of the healthy subjects (4.50 +/- 0.40 mc mol/l ml of red blood cells). A rice in 2,3-DPG concentration is not dependent on the patients' age, duration, severity and type of the disease. The determination of a 2,3-DPG level maybe used for evaluation of tissue hypoxia in patients with diabetes mellitus.