Initiation of basal bolus insulin therapy.

Most practice guidelines recommend the use of longacting or pre-mixed insulin at the initiation of insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes, especially in patients not achieving glycaemic goals. Nonetheless, there are some specific indications where basal bolus insulin is the preferred regimen for insulin initiation. These include the "5S" situations - 'Severe' hyperglycaemia, 'Symptomatic' diabetes, 'Sick' diabetes (acute or chronic comorbidity), 'Special' situations (pregnancy, childhood, adolescence) and 'Secondary' diabetes (pancreatic, drug-induced, endocrine disorders). This review describes a practical approach to initiation and follow up of basal bolus insulin regimens.

Individualizing Time-in-Range Goals in Management of Diabetes Mellitus and Role of Insulin: Clinical Insights From a Multinational Panel.

Diabetes mellitus is a global health concern associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Inadequate control of diabetes leads to chronic complications and higher mortality rates, which emphasizes the importance of achieving glycemic targets. Although glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is the gold standard for measuring glycemic control, it has several limitations. Therefore, in recent years, along with the emergence of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology, glycemic control modalities have moved beyond HbA1c. They encompass modern glucometrics, such as glycemic variability (GV) and time-in-range (TIR). The key advantage of these newer metrics over HbA1c is that they allow personalized diabetes management with person-centric glycemic control. Basal insulin analogues, especially second-generation basal insulins with properties such as longer duration of action and low risk of hypoglycemia, have demonstrated clinical benefits by reducing GV and improving TIR. Therefore, for more effective and accurate diabetes management, the development of an integrated approach with second-generation basal insulin and glucometrics involving GV and TIR is the need of the hour. With this objective, a multinational group of endocrinologists and diabetologists reviewed the existing recommendations on TIR, provided their clinical insights into the individualization of TIR targets, and elucidated on the role of the second-generation basal insulin analogues in addressing TIR.