Palliative and end of life care for people with diabetes: a topical issue

摘要

Managing diabetes is challenging, especially in palliative and end-of-life situations. The prime focus is usually on safety, comfort and quality of life rather than on achieving 'tight' blood glucose control. Preventing hypo- and hyper-glycemia is an important aspect of comfort and quality of life. The care plan and blood glucose targets need to be personalized to suit the individual's health and functional status, medicine regimen, risk profile and life expectancy, and, importantly, developed with the individual and sometimes their family carers.