Inpatient hypoglycaemia; should we should we focus on the guidelines, the targets or our tools?

Abstract

In their thought‐provoking commentary, Levy et al. [1] explore the possible unintended consequences of United Kingdom (UK) guideline targets on the high frequency of hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes who are hospitalized. The authors cite the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Joint British Diabetes Societies (JBDS) guidelines pertaining to inpatient, surgical and pregnancy diabetes care. These guidelines suggest using lower limits of glucose targets varying from 4.0 to 6.0 mmol/l [2–4]. Levy et al. propose a lower glucose limit of 5 mmol/l with the catchphrase ‘stop at 5 and keep the inpatient alive’.