EASD Symposium at DiabetesIndia 2025: Harmonising recommendations on the management of hyperglycaemic crises
India is a “hotspot” of the global diabetes epidemic given the enormous absolute numbers of people living with
diabetes and the considerable challenges due to low-resource conditions. The 15th World Congress of DiabetesIndia
(DiabetesIndia 2025), held in February 2025, was organised by the Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) Congress
and DiabetesIndia, an organisation dedicated to advancing diabetes care at both the national and international levels.
More than 3,500 delegates attended the 15th World Congress of DiabetesIndia (DiabetesIndia 2025) that
was held in Ahmedabad, India, from 13th to 16th February 2025. “There is a huge demand in India.
In that relatively low-resource environment, there is a lot that can be done,” explains Professor
Ketan Dhatariya, consultant in diabetes, endocrinology and general medicine at the Norfolk & Norwich
University Hospital. Prof. Dhatariya had been invited to speak at the EASD Symposium together with
Professor Simon Griffin from the University of Cambridge, UK, and Professor Mikel Izquierdo from
the Public University of Navarre in Spain.
Highlights of the EASD Symposium
While Prof. Griffin elaborated on the evidence showing that metformin use affects cardiovascular
mortality and morbidity in people with diabetes, Prof. Izquierdo discussed the topic of sarcopenia in
diabetics as well as ways to mitigate muscle protein loss.
In his talk on hyperglycaemic emergencies, Prof. Dhatariya referred to the two major guidelines on the
management of hyperglycaemic crises published by the American Diabetes Association and the Joint British
Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care Group. Updates of these guidelines had become necessary over the
last years. Slight differences existed between them with respect to the management of diabetic ketoacidosis
(DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic syndrome (HHS), and there was a need to update on innovations in terms
of technology, SGLT2 inhibitor use and other aspects. Experts from scientific societies around the world
contributed to the paper.
View the consensus report on the management of hyperglycaemic crises in adults here.
Global consensus on diagnosis and treatment
“We developed a global consensus document in which we harmonised the diagnosis and management of
patients with DKA and HHS,” Prof. Dhatariya reported. Notable changes included the adjustment of
glucose thresholds, amongst others. A novelty is the definition of criteria for the resolution of
DKA and HHS. The consensus panel endorses the global availability of bedside capillary ketone
monitoring that is particularly useful in low-resource settings. “Our efforts are hopefully
going to reduce some of the discrepancies around the world and allow people to use just one guideline.”
To learn more about the DiabetesIndia Congress, go to:
https://diabetesindia.org/
Author: Judith Moser, MD. Any opinions expressed in this article are the responsibility of EASD e-Learning.
