Interpreting Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Technology is becoming an ever-more important part of our lives, and this is also relevant in the diabetes world. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is a tool that can enhance self-care among people living with diabetes and should be encouraged as part of diabetes management.  Recently the availability of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and flash glucose monitoring (FGM) has changed the ways we ‘view’ blood glucose results and the ‘patterns’ they make. Finger stick testing only provides us with ‘snapshots’ of blood glucose levels throughout a day. In-between, much more empty space than data exists, so how can you improve what you can’t see? Although the ‘visual’ limitation of finger stick testing is known, numerous other barriers make using this tool difficult. FGM and CGM provide a ‘video’ of information regarding blood glucose control. The trend indicators in these systems also provide context and more meaning to each reading by indicating in which direction and at what rate your glucose is moving. This makes preventative action possible, helping to improve daily life and the quality of consultations with the health care team, by providing more comprehensive information regarding overall glycaemic control. Continuous glucose monitoring tools can add value in the achievement of reflection-guided behaviour change and empowering people with diabetes to make better self-care choices. Dr Larry Distiller takes us through how to interpret continuous glucose monitoring graphs, and what steps for action need to be taken in various scenarios.