HYPOGLYCAEMIA management is the focus of a new guideline from the Endocrine Society. Hypoglycaemia, which is common in people with Type 1 diabetes or in patients with Type 2 diabetes who are taking sulfonylureas or insulin, involves dangerously low blood sugar, and can lead to unconsciousness or seizures. The new recommendations from the Endocrine Society include guidance on treating and managing hypoglycaemia more effectively through new forms of glucagon and insulin, as well as advancements in insulin pump technology and continuous glucose monitoring. As these have been more commonly used in the last 10 years, the guidelines had to be updated to match these advancements in medications and technologies, in order to lower the risk of hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes.
The recommendations include the prescription of easier-to-use formulations of glucagon to patients who have severe hypoglycaemia; the use of continuous glucose monitoring instead of self-monitoring by fingerstick in patients with Type 1 diabetes who receive multiple injections a day; inpatient glycaemic surveillance and management programmes using electronic health record data for inpatients who are at risk for hypoglycaemia; and finally, the use of structured patient education programmes for paediatric and adult patients with diabetes who receive insulin.
These new guidelines aim to provide clinicians with evidence-based recommendations to diagnose, treat, and manage endocrine-related conditions. They have been developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts in the field, and rely on evidence-based reviews of literature. Anthony McCall, chair of the panel that wrote the guidelines, stated: “People with diabetes, their caregivers and diabetes specialists will all benefit from our guideline with a better understanding of best practices and interventions.”
