Treatment Considerations for Diabetes: A Pharmacist’s Guide to Improving Care in the Elderly

The management of diabetes in elderly patients has many nuances that are important to the pharmacist, regardless of his or her practice setting. General guide-lines and treatment modalities applied to the younger population cannot necessarily be applied to the elderly population and in most cases, should be tailored to meet their needs. The purpose of this article is to gain a better understanding of the complex nature of diabetes and management in the elderly by (1) review-ing the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diabetes in the patients, (2) understanding complications and geriatric syndromes that may affect management of dia-betes, (3) becoming familiar with nationally accepted diabetes care guidelines in the elderly, (4) reviewing recent literature pertaining to management of diabetes, and (5) reviewing medications (including newer agents) to treat diabetes in the elderly