Connecting the Dots: Innovations in Diabetes and Kidney Disease Diagnostics

Connecting the Dots: Innovations in Diabetes and Kidney Disease Diagnostics

Diabetes and kidney disease are closely intertwined—and advances in laboratory diagnostics are helping clinicians better detect, classify, monitor, and manage both conditions. Connecting the Dots: Innovations in Diabetes and Kidney Disease Diagnostics brings together four timely perspectives on the evolving diagnostic landscape, from the enduring value of A1c and the growing role of continuous glucose monitoring to emerging approaches in diabetes classification, standardized testing for chronic kidney disease, and the clinical insights that urinary casts can provide. Together, these articles highlight how laboratory testing and new technologies are helping connect critical diagnostic information to earlier detection, more informed clinical decisions, and improved patient care.

Two articles featured in the e-book include the following:

Evolving paradigms in diabetes diagnosis and classification: ADA standards of care 2025 and the use of artificial intelligence

ADA Standards of Care 2025 for diabetes diagnosis and classification emphasize the importance of distinguishing type 1, type 2, monogenic, and gestational diabetes to guide appropriate treatment and reduce misdiagnosis. The article features current laboratory approaches, including A1C, fasting plasma glucose, oral glucose tolerance testing, C-peptide, and islet autoantibody testing, along with criteria for confirming diabetes and prediabetes. Also highlighted is the growing role of artificial intelligence and remote monitoring, which can help predict diabetes subtypes and complications, personalize treatment, and anticipate events such as hypoglycemia.

Optimizing and standardizing testing to address the threat of chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing global health threat, driven largely by diabetes and hypertension, yet it remains significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated. The article examines the key laboratory measures used to identify and manage CKD—including creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urine albumin, and cystatin C—and emphasizes that standardization of these tests is essential for consistent diagnosis, risk classification, and treatment decisions. As use of urine albumin, cystatin C, and serum albumin expands, clinical laboratories have an increasingly important role in improving CKD detection and management through accurate testing, standardized methods, and collaboration with clinicians and pharmacists.