diff --git a/plugins/utils.c b/plugins/utils.c
index c2261dc3..518caa8c 100644
--- a/plugins/utils.c
+++ b/plugins/utils.c
@@ -287,6 +287,16 @@ delta_time (struct timeval tv)
 
 
 
+long
+deltime (struct timeval tv)
+{
+	struct timeval now;
+	gettimeofday (&now, NULL);
+	return (now.tv_sec - tv.tv_sec)*1000000 + now.tv_usec - tv.tv_usec;
+}
+
+
+
 
 void
 strip (char *buffer)
diff --git a/plugins/utils.h b/plugins/utils.h
index c378e459..b763b1e2 100644
--- a/plugins/utils.h
+++ b/plugins/utils.h
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, struct timezone *tz);
 #endif
 
 double delta_time (struct timeval tv);
+long deltime (struct timeval tv);
 
 /* Handle strings safely */