What is "tight control" of diabetes? Goals, limitations, and evaluation of therapy

Complete normalization of the blood glucose concentration is the ideal goal in patients with diabetes. Because of deficiencies in therapeutic modalities for diabetes, achievement of approximation of normoglycemia is usually a satisfactory result. Generally, blood glucose ranges of 70 to 120 mg/dl preprandially and less than 160 to 180 mg/dl 90 minutes postprandially in nonpregnant patients with diabetes are considered appropriate. Diurnal variations in glycemia can be caused by the size and composition of meals, the time of day a meal is eaten, stress, and exercise. Self-monitoring of blood glucose by the patient and measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin have been useful in achieving control of diabetes.