Effect of Short-Term Use of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System with a Real-Time Glucose Display and a Low Glucose Alarm on Incidence and Duration of Hypoglycemia in a Home Setting in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Free accessResearch articleFirst published online November, 2010
Effect of Short-Term Use of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System with a Real-Time Glucose Display and a Low Glucose Alarm on Incidence and Duration of Hypoglycemia in a Home Setting in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
The objective of this study was to examine whether setting the low glucose alarm of a Guardian® REAL-Time continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) to 80 mg/dl for 3 days and providing instructions to users reduce the risk of hypoglycemia under free-living conditions in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods:
Fourteen participants with T1DM aged 26.1 ± 6.0 years (mean ± standard deviation) were fitted with a CGMS and assigned for 3 days to either an alarm [low and high blood glucose (BG) alarms set at 80 and 200 mg/dl, respectively] or no alarm condition, with each treatment administered to all participants following a counterbalanced design. All participants were given detailed instructions on how to respond appropriately to low glucose alarms.
Results:
The CGMS with alarm reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia (CGMS readings ≤65 mg/dl) by 44% as well as the time spent below this hypoglycemic threshold by 64% without increasing average BG levels. However, the CGMS with alarm had no effect on the incidence of symptomatic hypoglycemia.
Conclusions:
Short-term use of the CGMS with alarm, together with appropriate instructions for users, reduces the incidence and duration of hypoglycemia, but only to a limited extent, in part because it overestimates BG in the low glucose range.
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