ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is an extremely common disease yet it often remains undiagnosed. This may be because the symptoms are mild or because the condition develops gradually over months or years. Opportunistic screening is easily carried out by the initial step of testing the urine for glucose. Subsequent steps in the diagnostic pathway are considered in this chapter. Finally, diagnosis of diabetes in a patient presenting with symptoms is discussed. The WHO diagnostic criteria based on the modified glucose tolerance test (GTT) are specified, and the standard method of carrying out the GTT, which is easily done in general practice, is described.
