Management of diabetes mellitus in patients with chronic kidney disease

Glycemic control is essential to delay or prevent the onset of diabetic kidney disease. There are a number of glucose-lowering medications available but only a fraction of them can be used safely in chronic kidney disease and many of them need an adjustment in dosing. The ideal target hemoglobin A1c is approximately 7 % but this target is adjusted based on the needs of the patient. Diabetes control should be optimized for each individual patient, with measures to reduce diabetes-related complications and minimize adverse events. Overall care of diabetes necessitates attention to multiple aspects, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and often, multidisciplinary care is needed.