Prevalence and determinants of poor glycemic control among diabetic chronic kidney disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis in Tanzania

The high prevalence of poor glycemic control among diabetic CKD patients, as revealed by this study, has significant implications. Patients on antidiabetic medication and those with less than three dialysis sessions per week are at a high risk of HbA1c > 8%. Conversely, patients dialyzed using glucose-free dialysates are at a high risk of HbA1c < 6%. Glycemic control in diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients is a great challenge due to altered glucose homeostasis, gluconeogenesis, tubular glucose reabsorption and inaccuracy of glycemic regulation metrics [1]. Furthermore, changed renal pharmacokinetics of antihyperglycemic agents (AHA), uremic milieu, and dialysis therapy also contribute to this challenge [2]. Based on the severe risk of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia in patients with diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD), glycemic control is of paramount importance.