Self-monitoring of blood glucose in noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes: an overview

Review

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Authors: Nanne Kleefstra, Johanna Hortensius, Kornelis JJ van Hateren, et al

Published Date September 2009 Volume 2009:2 Pages 155 - 163

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/DMSO.S4580

Nanne Kleefstra¹, Johanna Hortensius¹, Kornelis JJ van Hateren¹, Susan JJ Logtenberg¹, Sebastiaan T Houweling², Rijk OB Gans³, Henk JG Bilo¹

¹Diabetes Centre, Isala Clinics, Zwolle, The Netherlands; ²Langerhans Medical Research Group, The Netherlands; ³Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Introduction: The effectiveness of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in noninsulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) remains unclear. We aimed to review the trials investigating the effects of SMBG in this population.

Methods: Medline was searched until June 29, 2009. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of at least 12 weeks’ duration were included. Data on the following aspects were gathered: patient and study characteristics, effects on HbA_1c, quality of life and treatment satisfaction, and methodological quality.

Results: The search revealed 9 original RCTs. These studies were very heterogeneous, and 5 were classified as of high quality. The studies with the best methodology did not show an effect of SMBG on HbA_1c, the studies with the worst methodological quality did. Two out of the 4 studies that assessed quality of life showed a significant change in favor of the control group, 1 study showed a significant change in favor of SMBG.

Discussion and conclusion: We found an inverse relation between study quality and efficacy of SMBG. At this moment, there is no basis for general use of SMBG in noninsulin-treated T2DM patients.

Keywords: blood glucose self-monitoring, diabetes mellitus, type 2, blood glucose, hemoglobin A, glycosylated

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