Key guidelines on the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) include those from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and are evidence-based, whereas the popular joint report from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a consensus

Numerous regional guidelines on diabetes treatment are currently available, including the scientifically rigorous and independent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline in the UK

This review provides a critical appraisal of differences between various guidelines, and compares evidence-based guidelines with consensus reports, on the role of sulfonylureas (SUs) in the management of T2DM

Most international and regional guidelines differentiate between different SUs

SUs remain widely recommended as safe and effective glucose-lowering agents, with low absolute rates of severe hypoglycaemia