No more finger pricks: A continuous glucose monitor benefits patients
with diabetes in more ways than one

Date:
July 26, 2021
Source:
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
Summary:
A 15-center study of 175 patients with poorly controlled type 2
diabetes found that continuous glucose monitoring, compared to
blood glucose meter monitoring, or finger pricking, significantly
decreased their hemoglobin A1C over eight months.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A 15-center study of 175 patients with poorly controlled type 2
diabetes in JAMA found that continuous glucose monitoring, compared
to blood glucose meter monitoring, or finger pricking, significantly
decreased their hemoglobin A1C over eight months (-1.1% versus -0.16%, respectively.)

========================================================================== Although the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring for patients with diabetes has been demonstrated before, the benefits have only been well
studied in patients with type 1 diabetes or patients with type 2 treated
with multiple daily insulin injections, referred to as prandial insulin.

Study author Rodica Busui, M.D., Ph.D., also the vice chair of clinical research in the Department of Internal Medicine at University of Michigan Health, says this work is one of the first to thoroughly understand
the impact of having access to and using a continuous glucose monitor
in adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes that are only treated
with basal insulin, a long-acting insulin designed to be injected once
or twice daily to provide an adequate level of insulin throughout the
day and night "Not only does this trial demonstrate the benefits of
continuous glucose monitoring for these patients, a technology that
hasn't been covered by many insurers for those with type 2 diabetes,
but these benefits were seen across a broad spectrum of socio-economic
status and racial backgrounds," said Busui.

She adds that approximately half of the study's participants were of a
racial or ethnic minority.

The randomized clinic trial began enrolling patients in mid-2018 to
late-2019, with follow up in mid-2020. The participants received one
or two daily injections of long-acting basal insulin, with or without non-insulin medications to help lower blood sugar levels.



========================================================================== "This work wouldn't have been possible without the partnership between endocrinologists and primary care physicians, as all the patients were recruited and treated by our primary care teams," said Busui, who is
also associate director for clinical research in the Elizabeth Weiser
Caswell Diabetes Institute.

Aside from testing the efficacy of continuous glucose monitoring paired
with basal insulin in the study participants, Busui and her team sought
to better understand how the impact of this diabetes treatment approach affected patients' adherence to managing their disease as well as their
overall life satisfaction.

To the researchers' delight, the 175 study participants exhibited
better adherence to managing their diabetes, and their life satisfaction
was higher.

"For me, what's most exciting is that this work demonstrates that using continuous glucose monitoring is effective in substantially improving
blood sugars levels and decreasing the risks of hypoglycemia in those
that were randomized to use a continuous glucose monitor compared with
the usual finger- prick," said Busui.

"This may open the door for broader coverage of this game-changing
technology for all patients with diabetes. More patients can manage their diabetes if they have access to this resource and their primary care
physicians are educated on the benefits of their patients utilizing it."
This future of more affordable health care already looks a little bit
brighter with Medicare recently announcing eliminating the requirement of
the four-time- daily finger-prick to qualify for coverage of a continuous glucose monitor.

Work was contributed by several co-investigators at U-M, including
Caroline Richardson, M.D., associate chair of research in the department
of Family Medicine, Lynn Ang, M.D., and Kara Mizokami-Stout, M.D.,
assistant professors in the department of Metabolism, Endocrinology
and Diabetes, as well as clinical trial coordinators Jake Reiss, B.S.,
Aaron Burant, B.S. and Ginny Leone, M.S.

This study was sponsored by DexCom, Inc. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03566693.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Michigan,_Michigan_Medicine. Original written by Jordyn
Imhoff. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Thomas Martens, Roy W. Beck, Ryan Bailey, Katrina J. Ruedy, Peter
Calhoun, Anne L. Peters, Rodica Pop-Busui, Athena Philis-Tsimikas,
Shichun Bao, Guillermo Umpierrez, Georgia Davis, Davida Kruger,
Anuj Bhargava, Laura Young, Janet B. McGill, Grazia Aleppo, Quang
T. Nguyen, Ian Orozco, William Biggs, K. Jean Lucas, William
H. Polonsky, John B.

Buse, David Price, Richard M. Bergenstal, Anders Carlson, Sharon
Chambers, Shoua Yang, Marian Sue Kirkman, Alexander Kass, Rachael
Fraser, Terra Cushman, Clementina Ramos, Maria Magar, Martha Walker,
Sara Serafin-Dokhan, Maamoun Salam, Stacy Hurst, Mary Jane Clifton,
Jelena Kravarusic, Anupam Bansal, Candice Fulkerson, Lynn Ang,
Caroline Richardson, Kara Mizokami-Stout, Jake Reiss, Virginia
Leone, Kirstie Stifel, George Dailey, Amy Change, James McCallum,
Maria Isabel Garcia, Dianne Davis, Cynthia Lovell, Connie Root,
Freida Toler, Lori Wilhelm, Robin Eifert, Lorena Murguia, Becky
Cota, Loida Nguyen, Randie Lipski, Mary Katherine Lawrence,
Adelle Fournier, Matthew Carter, Stephanie Hoover, Nathan Cohen,
Thomas Mouse, Jessica Rusnak, Tiffany Campos, Nelly Njeru, Tom
Arant, Stayce E. Beck, Andrew Balo. Effect of Continuous Glucose
Monitoring on Glycemic Control in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Treated With Basal Insulin. JAMA, 2021; 325 (22): 2262 DOI:
10.1001/ jama.2021.7444 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210726170357.htm

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