Continuous Glucose

a computer and clearly visible in the form of a graph which any one can understand. There are plenty of patients who have high blood sugar at odd times of the day which is not detected by the routine tests like fasting blood sugar (FBS) and postprandial blood sugar (PPBS) (blood sugar after food) or who are unaware that they may be experiencing low blood sugars at night. The use of a CGMS can provide essential information to the doctor to allow him/her to appropriately modify the treatment of their patients to get better control of blood sugar throughout the day. WHAT IS CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING? In the 1970s, blood glucose meters became available and transformed the nature of diabetes self-monitoring. However, periodic blood glucose measurements via blood glucose meters only show a snapshot of blood glucose at any given test time. As the illustration depicts, blood glucose meter tests (reflected by blue rectangles) provide only instantaneous snapshots of glucose activity; periodic blood glucose measurements may not truly depict the profile of a patient’s glucose control. Continuous glucose monitoring tells the whole story like a “movie”, not just snapshots of the glucose levels. It provides insight into glucose trends between blood glucose tests, leading to improved knowledge and improved glucose control. BASICS OF CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING The sensor is placed subcutaneously and measures glucose in the fluid between the blood vessels and the cells, called the ISF. Blood glucose meters measure glucose in the blood capillary. Glucose (primarily from carbohydrates) passes from blood vessels, through the ISF, to cells. So, the glucose level recorded in the ISF briefly lag