Continuous Glucose Monitoring with Real‑Time Readings

Abstract

With 74.2 million people affected, diabetes represents a major burden on India’s health‑care system and economy. Effective diabetes management is based on diet, lifestyle, pharmacotherapy, and glucose monitoring that are to be individualized for every patient. However, glucose monitoring rates in India are abysmal. The available monitoring techniques have limitations with respect to mostly being single point‑in‑time readings that may not be entirely reflective of the state of diabetes control. With advancements in technology, the new monitoring tool – continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) – provides visibility into the glycemic profile 24 × 7 with user‑friendly reports that provide information much beyond the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and self‑monitoring of blood glucose. This innovative tool also detects the time spent in range by the individual with diabetes. This is the new metric endorsed by all reputed medical organizations for diabetes management with multiple benefits ranging from helping slow down the progression to diabetes‑related complications to enabling improvement in overall glycemic control. CGM can be classified into personal and professional types based on its usage. Certain types of CGM can also provide real‑time (RT) readings either automatically or on‑demand. This review article explores the CGM technologies with RT readings in the context of diabetes care in India. These new technologies have the potential to change the way diabetes is managed today including making smart decisions such as the right choice of diet, apt lifestyle modification, and adequate titration of pharmacotherapy (including insulin) while monitoring glucose levels continuously anytime anywhere without a prick.