Impact of Continuous Glucose Monitoring and its Glucometrics in Clinical Practice in Spain and Future Perspectives: A Narrative Review.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices allow for 24-h real-time measurement of interstitial glucose levels and have changed the interaction between people with diabetes and their health care providers. The large amount of data generated by CGM can be analyzed and evaluated using a set of standardized parameters, collectively named glucometrics. This review aims to provide a summary of the existing evidence on the use of glucometrics data and its impact on clinical practice based on published studies involving adults and children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Spain. METHODS: The PubMed and MEDES (Spanish Medical literature) databases were searched covering the years 2018-2022 and including clinical and observational studies, consensus guidelines, and meta-analyses on CGM and glucometrics conducted in Spain. RESULTS: A total of 16 observational studies were found on the use of CGM in Spain, which have shown that cases of severe hypoglycemia in children with T1D were greatly reduced after the introduction of CGM, resulting in a significant reduction in costs. Real-world data from Spain shows that CGM is associated with improved glycemic markers (increased time in range, reduced time below and above range, and glycemic variability), and that there is a relationship between glycemic variability and hypoglycemia. Also, CGM and analysis of glucometrics proved highly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic. New glucometrics, such as the glycemic risk index, or new mathematical approaches to the analysis of CGM-derived glucose data, such as "glucodensities," could help patients to achieve better glycemic control in the future. CONCLUSION: By using glucometrics in clinical practice, clinicians can better assess glycemic control and a patient's individual response to treatment.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices are used to monitor glucose levels in real time over 24 h. This has changed the way people with diabetes and their health care providers interact. These devices produce a large amount of data that can be analyzed and evaluated using standardized parameters called glucometrics, which include the time a patient's glucose is in range, below range, and above range, and how much it varies over 24 h. Clinicians can use these data to better assess glycemic control and a patient's individual response to treatment. In this article, we summarize evidence from published studies involving adults and children with type 1 diabetes in Spain to look at how the use of these data has affected clinical practice. Studies have shown that cases of severe low blood glucose in children with diabetes were greatly reduced after the introduction of CGM, resulting in a significant reduction in costs. Data from clinical practice in Spain show that CGM is associated with improved blood glucose markers. Many studies analyzed these data during the COVID-19 pandemic and showed that CGM and analysis of glucometrics were highly useful during this time. New glucometrics and approaches to the analysis of data from CGM could help patients achieve better blood glucose control.