Medical myths involving diabetes.

Medical myths occur for many different reasons. Myths surrounding diabetes are common and are usually attributable to practices that have not been evaluated rigorously (sliding-scale insulin use), concerns related to pathophysiology (beta-blocker use), or extrapolation from small studies or case series (niacin use in patients with diabetes). Myths often are passed on from generation of house staff to students by word of mouth. It is often difficult to determine the origins of some myths, as is the case with sliding-scale insulin use. Other myths may have grown from the inclusion of information from a small case series in an authoritative text [1]. Understanding the myths and misconceptions about the care of patients with diabetes is important in providing excellent care to the patient with diabetes.