The Effectiveness of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices in Managing Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus: A Retrospective Study

Cureus. 2023 Jul 27;15(7):e42545. doi: 10.7759/cureus.42545. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Abstract

This retrospective study aimed to assess the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices in managing uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM). The study cohort comprised 25 patients with uncontrolled diabetes who received treatment at an internal medicine resident clinic. The objective was to evaluate the impact of transitioning from self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) to CGM devices on glycemic control, as measured by changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, average blood glucose levels, hypoglycemic events, time spent within the target blood sugar range, and glucose variability. The findings indicated significant improvements in glycemic control with the adoption of CGM devices, highlighting their potential benefits for optimizing diabetes management. The study is particularly interesting because it was done in an internal medicine continuity clinic with the main participation of the internal medicine residents under the supervision of an endocrinologist. It was not done as the majority of the other studies used CGM in specialized endocrinology clinics.

Keywords: board certified endocrinologist; continuous glucose monitoring; continuous glucose monitoring (cgm); diabetes mellitus type 2; glycemic control; hba1c; internal medicine residents; self-monitoring blood glucose (smbg); uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.