Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Requirements with the Use of Intermittently Scanned Continuous Glucose Monitoring: A Follow-Up Analysis Using Real-Life Data.

Hypoglycemia-prone individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who use intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) systems spend about 5 h/day in states where self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is indicated. Here we present estimates of the need for SMBG testing by retrospectively analyzing isCGM data from a cohort of real-world isCGM users. Data from 67 individuals were included in the analysis. Mean (SD) 3.18 (1.63) h/day was spent in an SMBG-indicated state and the number of transitions to an SMBG-indicated state was 3.86 (1.46)/day. Frequency of clinically important hypoglycemia [<3.0 mmol/L (<54 mmol/dL)] was median (IQR) 1.5 (0.6-3.4) episodes/week, of which only 50% were associated with a scan during the episode, and the average duration was 75.2 (63.9-91.8) min/episode. The need for continued SMBG testing remains important for all isCGM users and may affect the overall cost-effectiveness of isCGM. Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia and incidence of asymptomatic hypoglycemia may be underreported among real-life isCGM users in clinical practice.