Diabetes mellitus. II: Routine chest radiography.

Chest radiographs of 43 consecutive diabetic patients were evaluated with a view to determine their role as a routine investigation of patients with diabetes mellitus. 22 (51.2%) patients had normal chest radiographs. The remaining 21 patients had 61 abnormalities found in their chest radiographs. 26 (42.6%) of these were significant abnormalities while 35 (57.4%) were non-significant. Of the former, 42.3% were due to cardiomegaly while in the latter group, aortic unfolding was the main finding. Radiological abnormalities were more commonly observed in patients aged 40 years and over, than in those below, with a ratio of 3:1. Chest radiographs corroborated clinical diagnosis in 19 of the 21 cases in whom abnormalities were observed. This study shows that routine chest radiograph in diabetic patients is useful in those with clinical symptoms and in older diabetics above the age of 40 years.     

Diabetes mellitus. A perspective on management.

Diabetes mellitus results in multiple complications including over 10,000 new cases of blindness each year in the United States. The evidence that consistent good control significantly reduces these complications is overwhelming, i.e., a return to normal or close to normal glycemic state. This evidence is reviewed. Particularly noteworthy are data showing that when hemoglobin A1c values are consistently less than 8.4% (with 8.0% being the upper limit of normal), only 2.9% of subjects with existing retinopathy progress to a more severe retinopathy, whereas with higher hemoglobin A1cs, there is a progressive increase of severe retinopathy. Multiple biochemical hemodynamic and endocrine processes which appear abnormal in diabetes, return to normal when euglycemia is reestablished. Despite such evidence, physicians often resist conclusions regarding proper management of the diabetic state. The reasons are briefly reviewed.