• Amir Qaseem, Timothy J Wilt, Devan Kansagara, Carrie Horwitch, Michael J Barry, Mary Ann Forciea, Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians, Nick Fitterman, Kate Balzer, Cynthia Boyd, Linda L Humphrey, Alfonso Iorio, Jennifer Lin, Michael Maroto, Robert McLean, Reem Mustafa, and Janice Tufte.
• American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (A.Q.).
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2018 Apr 17; 168 (8): 569-576.

DescriptionThe American College of Physicians developed this guidance statement to guide clinicians in selecting targets for pharmacologic treatment of type 2 diabetes.MethodsThe National Guideline Clearinghouse and the Guidelines International Network library were searched (May 2017) for national guidelines, published in English, that addressed hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) targets for treating type 2 diabetes in nonpregnant outpatient adults. The authors identified guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. In addition, 4 commonly used guidelines were reviewed, from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology, the American Diabetes Association, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. The AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II) instrument was used to evaluate the guidelines.Guidance Statement 1Clinicians should personalize goals for glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes on the basis of a discussion of benefits and harms of pharmacotherapy, patients' preferences, patients' general health and life expectancy, treatment burden, and costs of care.Guidance Statement 2Clinicians should aim to achieve an HbA1c level between 7% and 8% in most patients with type 2 diabetes.Guidance Statement 3Clinicians should consider deintensifying pharmacologic therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes who achieve HbA1c levels less than 6.5%.Guidance Statement 4Clinicians should treat patients with type 2 diabetes to minimize symptoms related to hyperglycemia and avoid targeting an HbA1c level in patients with a life expectancy less than 10 years due to advanced age (80 years or older), residence in a nursing home, or chronic conditions (such as dementia, cancer, end-stage kidney disease, or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure) because the harms outweigh the benefits in this population.

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