Safety

Safety and Error Prevention: Diabetes in Control is committed to error prevention, safety know-how, awareness of lessons learned, voluntary error reporting, and patient compliance. Working in partnership with the Institute for Safe Medication Practice Also, our popular Disasters Averted section will give you more ideas on safety and preventing errors.

SGLT Inhibitors Protect the Heart and Kidneys: Why Is Type 1 Diabetes Still the Exception?

SGLT inhibitor medication with glucose monitoring supplies and heart and kidney imagery representing potential cardiorenal benefits in type 1 diabetes.

SGLT inhibitors have changed the treatment landscape for cardiovascular and kidney disease, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. That success raises an obvious question: why are SGLT inhibitors in type 1 diabetes still largely outside routine clinical practice? The answer is not a …

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GLP-1s and Opioids: The GI Risk Clinicians May Be Missing

GLP-1 medications and opioid therapy representing potential gastrointestinal risks from concurrent treatment.

GLP-1 receptor agonists have transformed the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but their effects on gastrointestinal motility remain an important clinical consideration. Opioids can also slow gastrointestinal function, raising an obvious question: what happens when patients need both? New research examining GLP-1 and opioid interactions suggests that opioid choice may …

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Beyond A1C: Can CGM Help Prevent Severe Hypoglycemia and DKA?

Person using a continuous glucose monitor to track glucose levels and help prevent severe hypoglycemia and DKA.

Continuous glucose monitoring has changed how clinicians and people with diabetes think about glucose control. Yet the next question is more important than whether CGM improves A1C or Time in Range. Can it prevent events that send patients to the emergency department or hospital? Growing evidence suggests that CGM may …

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GLP-1s and Vision Loss: What Prescribers Should Know About the Emerging NAION Signal

Patient eye with semaglutide injection illustrating the potential GLP-1 NAION risk and sudden vision loss.

GLP-1 receptor agonists have transformed type 2 diabetes and obesity treatment, but a rare vision safety signal deserves clinicians’ attention. Emerging evidence has raised concerns about a potential NAION risk with GLP-1 therapy, particularly with semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy). Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) can cause sudden, usually …

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Normal Blood Sugar, But Still in DKA? The Hidden Danger of Euglycemic Ketoacidosis

Euglycemic DKA SGLT2 inhibitor concept showing normal blood glucose, elevated ketones, medication, and kidney model.

Euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis can challenge one of the most familiar clinical shortcuts in diabetes care: DKA should come with markedly elevated glucose. In patients taking sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, however, dangerous ketoacidosis may develop while glucose remains normal or only modestly elevated. As a result, euglycemic DKA in patients …

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When Diabetes Technology Damages the Skin: Keeping Patients on CGMs and Insulin Pumps

CGM skin irritation around a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump adhesive sites

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps can transform diabetes management, but the technology only works when patients can comfortably keep wearing it. CGM skin irritation can turn a valuable device into a daily source of itching, redness, pain, or damaged skin. In some cases, the reaction becomes severe enough …

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Your Patient Is Taking a Compounded GLP-1. Now What?

Physician discussing compounded GLP-1 medication safety with a patient during a clinical consultation, with injectable medication vials and a syringe on the desk.

As demand for GLP-1 receptor agonists continues to outpace supply, many patients have turned to compounded medications obtained through telehealth companies, medical spas, wellness clinics, and compounding pharmacies. While these products may improve access for some individuals, they also introduce important clinical, regulatory, and medicolegal challenges. Providers increasingly encounter patients …

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Fasting With Diabetes: How Clinicians Can Reduce Hypoglycemia and DKA Risk

Blood glucose monitor, insulin supplies, healthy meal, and dates arranged for safe diabetes fasting management

Patients with diabetes are increasingly exploring fasting for religious, cultural, and metabolic health reasons. From Ramadan observance to intermittent fasting trends, many individuals choose to abstain from food and fluids for extended periods despite potential risks. For clinicians, this creates an important challenge. Simply advising patients not to fast often …

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GLP-1 Prescribing Without Baseline Data: Are We Skipping Critical Assessments?

Healthcare provider reviewing incomplete patient assessment form with GLP-1 injection pen and lab indicators in a clinical setting

A proper baseline assessment for GLP-1 therapy has become a critical yet sometimes overlooked step in modern diabetes care. In fast-moving clinical environments, especially with the rise of telehealth, providers may feel pressure to initiate GLP-1 therapy quickly. However, skipping essential baseline evaluations can lead to missed risks, poor outcomes, …

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Reassessing Hypoglycemia Risk in the Era of Modern Therapies

Physician reviewing continuous glucose monitor data with older adult patient showing low blood sugar alert during diabetes consultation

Managing the risk of hypoglycemia remains a central challenge in diabetes care, even as newer therapies lower the rate of severe events. Although GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors have reshaped treatment strategies, insulin and sulfonylureas are still widely used, especially among older adults and patients with chronic kidney disease …

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