In the Clinic, Ideas and Opinions address diabetes
A recent In the Clinic reviewed hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients, and an opinion article discussed misuse of race in interpretation of HbA1c levels.
Two recent features from Annals of Internal Medicine offered information about diabetes.
An In the Clinic review, published Dec. 10, addressed management of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients. It noted that people with diabetes account for 25% of hospitalizations and reviewed key considerations of inpatient diabetes management, including initiation of appropriate insulin or medication regimens, frequent dose adjustments, and use of diabetes management teams and new technologies. The editors of Annals develop In the Clinic with the assistance of additional physician writers, MKSAP, and other resources of ACP.
An Ideas and Opinions piece, published Nov. 12, discussed the misuse of race in the interpretation of HbA1c levels. It noted that Black patients typically have higher average HbA1c levels compared to non-Hispanic White patients, even after adjustment for glucose measures, which has led some experts to recommend that race or ethnicity be considered when using HbA1c testing to diagnose diabetes or make treatment decisions. However, the article argued that race correction would result in substantial misclassification of individual patients and called on clinicians not to “discourage HbA1c testing in patients based on race or ethnicity or modify HbA1c targets because of the color of a person's skin.”