Freckmann G, Link M, Pleus S et al (2018) Measurement performance of two continuous tissue glucose monitoring systems intended for replacement of blood glucose monitoring. Diabetes Technol Ther 20: 541–9
- Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems take more readings than blood glucose measurements and therefore support the assessment of metabolic control and can identify glycaemic trends.
- This head-to-head study compared the performance of the Dexcom G5 Mobile real-time CGM system and the Free-Style Libre flash glucose monitoring system with the standard approach of blood glucose monitoring under real-life and clinical conditions.
- Twenty participants with type 1 diabetes measured their blood glucose levels over a 2-week period in different settings (site visits, home use and during phases of induced rapid glucose changes) using the Dexcom G5 Mobile and the Free-Style Libre. They also took blood glucose measurements and made therapeutic decisions based on these readings alone.
- About a quarter of Dexcom G5 and Free-Style Libre results differed by more than 0.8 mmol/L or 15% from blood glucose monitoring results at therapeutic decision points, and approximately 5% of the differences measured were greater than 1.7 mmol/L or 30%.
- The performance of the CGM systems differed depending on the setting.
- Deviations in blood glucose readings should be taken into account when using CGM systems.
Amid accumulating evidence of benefits with new diabetes drugs, Vinod Patel asks whether the costs can be justified.
9 Nov 2023