The International Hypoglycaemia Study Group has recommended that blood glucose levels lower than 3.0 mmol/L (54 mg/dL) be recorded in clinical trials of glucose-lowering therapies. Group members agreed that this level “is sufficiently low to indicate serious, clinically important hypoglycemia,” using terms that include “serious,” “major,” or “clinically significant.”

The recommendation was published in Diabetes Care and issued as a joint statement by the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Cleveland Clinic staff endocrinologist and director of clinical research Kevin Pantalone, DO, has stated support for the recommendation, saying, “The glucose concentration suggested by the study group to be used for reporting hypoglycemia in clinical trials appears appropriate, as it is a distinctly low level that generally does not occur under physiological conditions in individuals without diabetes.”

For details, see this article in Endocrinology Adviser.