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AACE releases new comprehensive diabetes management algorithm
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The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has announced its newly published comprehensive diabetes management algorithm intended to instruct physicians, endocrinologists and other health care providers how to treat patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.
“This algorithm is a definitive, point-of-care tool for clinicians engaged in the treatment of those who are at risk for or have developed diabetes,” Endocrine Today Chief Medical Editor, Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD, FACE, chair of the algorithm task force and president of AACE, said in a press release. “We have expanded on our previous efforts to address broad-reaching, critical factors that accompany the disease and its treatment.”
Alan J. Garber
According to the press release, the task force suggests potential treatment prioritization and strategies for mitigating risk regarding the outcomes and conditions that occur with type 2 diabetes:
- Management of diabetes and co-existing diseases or disorders in the prediabetes phase of disease.
- A hierarchy of steps for the management of high blood sugar control using an approach that balances age and comorbidities while minimizing the adverse effects of hypoglycemia and weight gain.
- Complications-centric treatment of the overweight or obese patient, as opposed to a BMI-centric approach, including medical and surgical treatments for greater weight loss.
- Management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in those patients with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, the task force recommends a comprehensive care plan for patients with diabetes and to consider obesity management as a vital part of the treatment plan to reduce morbidity, mortality and disability among patients with type 2 diabetes who are also obese.
Among other key recommendations, the task force suggests an HbA1c level of <6.5% as the optimal goal. However, this recommendation is based on individualization to ensure safe practice regarding comorbidities, duration of diabetes, risk for hypoglycemia, patient motivation and adherence, and life expectancy, they wrote.
Moreover, higher HbA1c targets may become appropriate for some patients and change at any given time, they wrote.
The algorithm currently includes each FDA-approved class of medication for the indicated treatment of diabetes, while adjusting for each patient’s baseline HbA1c.
“With more than 100 million suffering from diabetes and prediabetes in the United States, there simply are not enough endocrinologists to care for all patients,” Garber said. “Thus, this algorithm is essential to assist and educate clinicians who are charged with these patients’ care.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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