Devices and technology: Continuous glucose monitoring

People with type 1 diabetes treated with multiple daily insulin injections struggle to achieve guideline-recommended targets for time in hypoglycemia while simultaneously reaching their glycated hemoglobin goals, researchers report.

Continuous glucose monitoring is well accepted and reduces time in hypoglycemia among older individuals with type 1 diabetes, report researchers in JAMA.

Simon Heller explains why time-in-range targets are so helpful for people with diabetes… yet handing out continuous glucose monitoring devices willy-nilly could do more harm than good.

Glycated hemoglobin levels correlate strongly with continuous glucose monitoring-measured average blood glucose and hyperglycemia, but poorly with hypoglycemia, say researchers.

The effect of sleep duration on glucose regulation and cardiometabolic risk is becoming an increasingly high-profile issue. medwireNews takes a look at the latest evidence, which shows the gravity of the problem but also offers some solutions.

Editorial Board member Lori Berard discusses how the ambulatory glucose profile is quietly revolutionizing the analysis of blood glucose and glycemic control for patients and practitioners.

Lucidi P et al. Curr Diab Rep 2018; 18: 83. doi: 10.1007/s11892-018-1065-6

Advisory Board member Katharine Barnard scrutinizes the opinion that clinicians should be relying on glycemic outcomes when weighing the decision to prescribe a diabetes device.

Oriot P et al. Acta Diabetol 2018. doi: 10.1007/s00592-018-1170-7

Zivkovic M, Petrovski G, Bitoska I. Acta Diabetol 2018; Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s00592-018-1147-6

As the utility and availability of devices surges, so too do patient expectations. Advisory Board member Katharine Barnard provides key consultation questions to help determine your patients’ greatest needs and obstacles.

The HypoDE investigators have reported that use of continuous glucose monitoring results in large reductions in hypoglycemia among high-risk patients managing their type 1 diabetes with multiple daily injections.