Does Self-Monitoring Glucose Levels Benefit Patients With Diabetes?
Patients with non-insulin treated type 2 diabetes did not benefit from self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) levels, according to a recent study.
The open-label randomized trial conducted in 15 primary care practices in North Carolina included 450 patients with non-insulin–treated type 2 diabetes who were older than 30 years and had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels higher than 6.5% but lower than 9.5% in the 6 months before baseline.
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Patients were randomly assigned to no SMBG, once-daily SMBG, or once-daily SMBG with enhanced patient feedback. The primary outcomes were health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and HbA1c level measured at 52 weeks.
Of the 450 patients, 418 (92.9%) completed the final visit.
There were no significant differences in HbA1c levels, HRQOL, or adverse events, such as hypoglycemia, across the 3 groups.
“In patients with non–insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, we observed no clinically or statistically significant differences at 1 year in glycemic control or HRQOL between patients who performed SMBG compared with those who did not perform SMBG,” the researchers concluded. “The addition of this type of tailored feedback provided through messaging via a meter did not provide any advantage in glycemic control.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Young LA, Buse JB, Weaver MA, et al. Glucose self-monitoring in non-insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care settings: a randomized trial [published online June 10, 2017]. JAMA Intern Med. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.1233.