Comparison of Serum Glucose Levels in Granulomatous and Nongranulomatous Mastitis

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to compare serum glucose levels in histologically distinct granulomatous and non-granulomatous mastitis subtypes and to evaluate whether serum glucose functions as a systemic metabolic indicator reflecting the severity of tissue-level inflammation.
METHODS: Fifty-one cases (25 granulomatous and 26 nongranulomatous mastitis) diagnosed between 2022 and 2025 were retrospectively reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS v22. Independent samples t-test was used for comparisons, and ROC analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of serum glucose.
RESULTS: Serum glucose levels were significantly higher in the nongranulomatous group (104.12 ± 15.41 mg/dL) compared to the granulomatous group (95.46 ± 10.97 mg/dL; p=0.026). No significant differences were found regarding other parameters, including CRP, WBC, NLR, and SII. In ROC analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) for glucose was 0.638 (p=0.090).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In conclusion, serum glucose levels were significantly higher in nongranulomatous mastitis, reflecting a transient systemic metabolic stress response to acute tissue-level inflammation. However, given the non-significant discriminatory power in ROC analysis, glucose should not be considered an independent diagnostic biomarker; rather, it should be interpreted solely as an adjunctive metabolic indicator alongside definitive clinical, radiological, and histopathological findings.

Keywords: Blood Glucose, Stress Hyperglycemia, Inflammation Severity