Diabetes Mellitus Associated With Cystic Fibrosis: Applying American Diabetes Association Standards

To the Editor.— The article of Reisman et al1 in the September 1990 issue of Pediatrics suggests that a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus does not impact survival negatively, in contradiction to an earlier study.2 It is therefore pertinent to look at the diagnostic and treatment criteria for Reisman et al's patients. First, the nondiabetic patients were not proven to be so based on glucose tolerance test. A recent study highlighted the fact that the glucose tolerance test may be required to diagnose accurately more than 60% of patients.3