rtCGM Is A New Standard Of Diabetes Care In Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG)
Diabetes Canada recently released their 2021 update for blood glucose monitoring in adults and children with diabetes with new recommendations for use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM).1
The new guidance provides a stronger recommendation for rtCGM systems, like Dexcom G6, compared to intermittently-scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) devices such as Abbott Freestyle Libre 2. According to the updated guidelines, “rtCGM has been shown to reduce A1C and increase glucose time in range (TIR), while simultaneously reducing duration and incidence of hypoglycemia in adults and children.”2
With these new recommendations, healthcare professionals and their patients have more clarity when choosing the right device for care.
New rtCGM Recommendations From CPG1
The updated CPG from Diabetes Canada gives healthcare professionals and patients new insights into the proficiency of rtCGM systems.
The updated recommendations for rtCGM are as follows:
- For people living with type 1 diabetes on basal-bolus insulin or an insulin pump, rtCGM should be used to: reduce A1C and increase time in range, and reduce duration and incidence of hypoglycemia.
- For adults living with type 1 diabetes with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia or recent severe hypoglycemia, rtCGM should be used to: reduce incidences of hypoglycemia and severe hypoglycemic events compared with capillary blood glucose (CBG) testing. rtCGM is recommended to reduce time in hypoglycemia compared with isCGM.
- For people living with type 2 diabetes on basal-bolus insulin, rtCGM may be used to: reduce A1C and duration of hypoglycemia and reduce duration and incidence of hypoglycemia.
A New Standard Of Care
For people living with diabetes and their care teams, updates to the guidelines indicate further support of the benefits that rtCGM systems offer for diabetes care.
In an 8-week study of individuals with impaired awareness of, or recent severe hypoglycemia using multiple daily injections (MDI), rtCGM reduced time in hypoglycemia and fear of hypoglycemia, which was not seen with isCGM.1 As well, people living with type 1 diabetes using rtCGM spent more TIR and less time below range (TBR) than isCGM users in a 5-week randomized study.1
It’s clear that real-time continuous glucose monitoring has become a new standard of care for people living with diabetes. With these new guidelines in place, healthcare professionals can feel confident recommending rtCGM technology to their patients living with diabetes.
If you would like to start prescribing the Dexcom G6 CGM System, our teams can assist you with the information and resources you need.
1. Cheng A, Feig D, Ho J, Siemens R (Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Working Group). Blood glucose monitoring in adults and children with diabetes: Update 2021. Can J Diabetes 2021;45(7):580-87. Accessed November 1, 2021. https://www.canadianjournalofdiabetes.com/article/S1499-2671(21)00195-7/fulltext.
2. Reddy M, Jugnee N, El Laboudi A, Spanudakis E, Anantharaja S, Oliver N. A randomized controlled pilot study of continuous glucose monitoring and flash glucose monitoring in people with Type 1 diabetes and impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia. Diabet Med 2018;35:483-90.
LBL022408 Rev001