KITLIVING
and should confirm to the International
Organization for Standards ISO 15197
Standard for blood glucose monitoring.
All home glucose meters must reach a
certain level of accuracy, but inevitably,
there will be variation between meters.
This is generally not a problem, as we
tend to stick to one meter for daily use
and seldom compare the readings with a
spare meter to confirm its accuracy.
The same cannot be said for CGM
and flash glucose monitoring.
Sensors detect glucose in the fluid
surrounding tissues (interstitial body fluid),
which lags behind blood glucose by
about 15 minutes. Comparing readings
from a traditional meter with a glucose
sensor will usually not give concordant
numbers, especially if glucose levels are
fluctuating rapidly, and it is for times like
this where blood glucose should be relied
upon for precise insulin and carbohydrate
calculations.
The more you compare glucose
readings from any two devices, the more
likely you are to see a discrepancy, and
this can go some way to explaining the
perceived inaccuracy of CGM. With
sensor accuracy improving year-byyear,
the subjective trade-off between
point accuracy of blood glucose and the
long-term trends such as time-in-range
provided by continuous monitoring may
not be a concern in the future. Glucose
The major limitation of 'time in range' is that
it can only be gleaned by use of CGM sensor
technology constantly measuring blood
glucose, yet it is a much more powerful and
accurate representation of glucose control, far
superior to HbA1c.
sensors have already gained the trust
of the DVLA, which has updated its
guidelines allowing CGM and flash
glucose monitoring to be valid for driving
purposes as well as blood test meters.
Numbers game
So it does seem that inevitably numbers
and 'big data' will play an ever more
important role in the management of
diabetes. Supporting and educating
healthcare professionals, patients and
their carers will ensure that this transition is
both smooth and rewarding for everyone
involved and resulting in improved control
and therefore 'better' numbers - and
outcomes.
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