Summary
Surgery in patients with diabetes mellitus is associated with increased morbidity and mortality compared with those who do not have diabetes mellitus. This is likely multifactorial and could be attributed to organisational issues; dysglycaemia; hospital-acquired diabetic ketoacidosis; errors with insulin prescribing and administration; issues with fluids and electrolytes; and systemic and surgical site infections. There was a need to update guidance for the peri-operative management of diabetes mellitus given improvements in our understanding, introduction of novel drugs and development of wearable technologies.
This consensus statement provides principles to be applied throughout the entire peri-operative pathway by healthcare professionals, institutions and patients. It is hoped that the implementation of these key recommendations will improve experience and outcomes for patients with diabetes mellitus having surgery.