Continuous glucose monitor use in type 2 diabetes mellitus in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess whether continuous glucose monitor use in type 2 diabetes mellitus in pregnancy is associated with improved perinatal outcomes. DATA SOURCES: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane library from inception through May 9, 2022. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included all studies that compared continuous glucose monitor use with fingerstick glucose monitoring in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: The initial search yielded 2463 unique citations that were screened in Covidence by 2 independent reviewers. Study types included randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and cross-sectional studies. Our outcomes of interest were macrosomia or large-for-gestational-age infants, hemoglobin A1c, cesarean delivery, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including preeclampsia, gestational age at delivery, and neonatal hypoglycemia. RESULTS: Three randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. We performed random-effects meta-analyses of estimates from 2 studies without risk of significant bias and reported summary adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Meta-analysis of 56 women with continuous glucose monitor use and 53 control women without continuous glucose monitor use showed that there was no difference in the incidence of large-for-gestational-age infants between continuous glucose monitor users and standard-of-care controls (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-1.78) with an I2 of 0%. In addition, there was no difference in the development of preeclampsia between continuous glucose monitor users and standard-of-care controls (odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.34-7.22) with an I2 of 0%. CONCLUSION: Continuous glucose monitor use was not associated with improved perinatal outcomes as assessed by large-for-gestational-age infants and preeclampsia. This review is limited by the small amount of data available for this population, and further research is needed.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia: Initial Experience at a Tertiary Care Center.

OBJECTIVE: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and hyperglycemia require frequent glucose monitoring, usually performed with glucometers. Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are common in the outpatient setting but not yet approved for hospital use. We evaluated CGM accuracy, safety for insulin dosing, and CGM clinical reliability in 20 adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and hyperglycemia. METHODS: Study patients were fitted with a remotely monitored CGM. CGM values were evaluated against glucometer readings. The CGM sensor calibration was performed if necessary. CGM values were used to dose insulin, without glucometer confirmation. RESULTS: CGM accuracy against glucometer, expressed as mean absolute relative difference (MARD), was calculated using 812 paired glucometer-CGM values. The aggregate MARD was 10.4%. For time in range and grades 1 and 2 hyperglycemia, MARD was 11.4%, 9.4%, and 9.1%, respectively, with a small variation between medical floors and intensive care units. There was no MARD correlation with mean arterial blood pressure levels, oxygen saturation, daily hemoglobin levels, and glomerular filtration rates. CGM clinical reliability was high, with 99.7% of the CGM values falling within the "safe" zones of Clarke error grid. After CGM placement, the frequency of glucometer measurements decreased from 5 to 3 and then 2 per day, reducing nurse presence in patient rooms and limiting viral exposure. CONCLUSION: With twice daily, on-demand calibration, the inpatient CGM use was safe for insulin dosing, decreasing the frequency of glucometer fingersticks. For glucose levels >70 mg/dL, CGMs showed adequate accuracy, without interference from vital and laboratory values.

Sustained Improvement in Glycemic Control in Emerging Adults with Type 1 Diabetes 2 Years After the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Although there were initial concerns that the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic would adversely affect glycemic control in people with type 1 diabetes, several early continuous glucose monitor (CGM) studies reported an unexpected slight improvement in glucose metrics. Early emerging adulthood (roughly spanning the ages of 18-24 years) is often a vulnerable time in the life of a person with type 1 diabetes. Here, we set out to determine how the care and glucose management of emerging adults with type 1 diabetes changed over a period of approximately 2 years from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of a tertiary referral, multidisciplinary young adult diabetes clinic, spanning before and after the 777-day state of emergency in the City of Toronto. RESULTS: Of 130 emerging adults with type 1 diabetes (80 male, 50 female; mean age 21.0 ± 2.1 years), baseline pre-pandemic HbA1c values were available for 120 individuals. During 24.9 ± 5.4 months of follow-up before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, HbA1c fell from 8.5 ± 1.7% (69.3 ± 18.8 mmol/mol) to 8.1 ± 1.9% (65.2 ± 20.5 mmol/mol) (P < 0.05), with change in HbA1c from pre-lockdown levels being sustained throughout the second year of the pandemic. Over the same period, CGM use rose from 43% to 83%, primarily through increased uptake of intermittently scanned CGM, which is covered through the Ontario Drug Benefit program. Change in HbA1c was most evident in Dexcom G6 real-time CGM users - 0.7 ± 1.2% (- 9.8 ± 17.1 mmol/mol) (P < 0.01 vs. self-monitoring of blood glucose). CONCLUSION: Among emerging adults with type 1 diabetes attending a multidisciplinary clinic in a high-income country, glycated hemoglobin levels are on average 0.4% (4.1 mmol/mol) lower than they were before the pandemic. This reduction in HbA1c is unlikely to be a consequence of early strict lockdowns given the length of time of follow-up. Rather, improved glycemic control coincided with increased utilization of wearable diabetes devices.

Combining CGM and an Online Peer Support Community for Hispanic Adults with T2D: A Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has identified that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) within the Hispanic community would benefit from an online peer support community (OPSC) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data to facilitate diabetes self-management. METHODS: A mixed-methods feasibility study enrolled Hispanic, Spanish-speaking adults with T2D, not on insulin. Participants were provided with CGM and access to an OPSC for 12 weeks. Feasibility was assessed by number of eligible participants who enrolled, attrition, quantity of CGM data, validated clinical measures of self-efficacy, quality of life and adverse events. Engagement in the OPSC was measured using objective metrics on the online platform. Qualitative interviews were conducted upon conclusion of the intervention to assess feasibility, acceptability, participant satisfaction, and key recommendations for improvement. RESULTS: Of 46 participants screened, 39 were eligible and 26 completed the study. Participants significantly improved self-efficacy scores. Posts in the OPSC related to goal setting had the highest engagement followed by mid-week and end of week check-in posts respectively. Participant interviews described challenges accessing the OPSC platform as a barrier to engagement. Despite this, all participants were satisfied with the intervention. Key recommendations for improvement included providing greater variety of and individualized education and the use of a peer support platform that is easily accessible. CONCLUSIONS: The CGM + OPSC intervention tailored to the Hispanic community with T2D was feasible, acceptable and satisfactory and improved participant self-efficacy for diabetes management which may lead to improved clinical outcomes.

Hospital Diabetes Meeting 2022.

The annual Virtual Hospital Diabetes Meeting was hosted by Diabetes Technology Society on April 1 and April 2, 2022. This meeting brought together experts in diabetes technology to discuss various new developments in the field of managing diabetes in hospitalized patients. Meeting topics included (1) digital health and the hospital, (2) blood glucose targets, (3) software for inpatient diabetes, (4) surgery, (5) transitions, (6) coronavirus disease and diabetes in the hospital, (7) drugs for diabetes, (8) continuous glucose monitoring, (9) quality improvement, (10) diabetes care and educatinon, and (11) uniting people, process, and technology to achieve optimal glycemic management. This meeting covered new technology that will enable better care of people with diabetes if they are hospitalized.

Acceptance and Effect of Continuous Glucose Monitoring on Discharge From Hospital in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Open-label, Prospective, Controlled Study.

BACKGROUND: Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) can provide detailed information on glucose excursions. There is little information on safe transitioning from hospital back to the community for patients who have had diabetes therapies adjusted in hospital and it is unclear whether newer technologies may facilitate this process. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether offering CGM on discharge would be acceptable and if CGM initiated on hospital discharge in people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) would reduce hospital re-presentations at 1 month. METHODS: This was an open-label study. Adult inpatients with T2DM, who were to be discharged home and required postdischarge glycemic stabilization, were offered usual care consisting of clinic review at 2 weeks and at 3 months. In addition to usual care, participants in the intervention arm were provided with a Libre flash glucose monitoring system (Abbott Australia). An initial run-in phase for the first 20 participants was planned, where all consenting participants were enrolled in an active arm. Subsequently, all participants were to be randomized to the active arm or usual care control group. RESULTS: Of 237 patients screened during their hospital admission, 34 had comorbidities affecting cognition that prevented informed consent and affected their ability to learn to use the CGM device. In addition, 21 were not able to be approached as the material was only in English. Of 101 potential participants who fulfilled eligibility criteria, 19 provided consent and were enrolled. Of the 82 patients who declined to participate, 31 advised that the learning of a new task toward discharge was overwhelming or too stressful and 26 were not interested, with no other details. Due to poor recruitment, the study was terminated without entering the randomization phase to determine whether CGM could reduce readmission rate. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest successful and equitable implementation of telemedicine programs requires that any human factors such as language, cognition, and possible disengagement be addressed. Recovery from acute illness may not be the ideal time for introduction of newer technologies or may require more novel implementation frameworks.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on management of children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had widespread impacts on the lives of parents and children. We determined how the pandemic affected Type 1 diabetes patients at a large urban pediatric teaching hospital. METHODS: We compared patient characteristics, glycemic control, PHQ-9 depression screen, in person and virtual outpatient encounters, hospitalizations and continuous glucose monitor (CGM) utilization in approximately 1600 patients in 1 year periods preceding and following the local imposition of COVID-related restrictions on 3/15/2020 ("2019" and "2020" groups, respectively). RESULTS: In a generalized linear model, increasing age, non-commercial insurance, Black and Hispanic race/ethnicity, and non-utilization of CGMs were all associated with higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), but there was no difference between the 2019 and 2020 groups. The time in range in CGM users was lower with non-commercial insurance and in Black and Hispanic patients; it improved slightly from 2019 to 2020. CGM utilization by patients with non-commercial insurance (93% of such patients were in government programs, 7% uninsured or "other") increased markedly. In 2020, patients with commercial insurance (i.e., private-pay or provided by an employer) had fewer office visits, but insurance status did not influence utilization of the virtual visit platform. There was no change in hospitalization frequency from 2019 to 2020 in either commercially or non-commercially insured patients, but patients with non-commercial insurance were hospitalized at markedly higher frequencies in both years. PHQ-9 scores were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalization frequency, glycemic control and depression screening were unchanged in our large urban pediatric teaching hospital during the COVID pandemic. Increased utilization of CGM and rapid adoption of telemedicine may have ameliorated the impact of the pandemic on disease management.

Diabetes Technology Use in Remote Pediatric Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Using Clinic-to-Clinic Telemedicine.

Background: Clinic-to-clinic telemedicine can increase visit frequency in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) living far from a diabetes specialty clinic, but the impact on adoption of diabetes technology is unclear. Materials and Methods: Pediatric patients with T1D in Colorado and surrounding states who received diabetes care using clinic-to-clinic telemedicine were enrolled. Medical records and surveys were reviewed to ascertain technology use, and data were compared to patients from the main clinic population. Results: Patients (N = 128, baseline mean age 12.4 ± 4.2 years, median T1D duration 3.3 years [IQR 1.4-7.7], mean A1c 8.9% ± 1.8%, 60% male, 75% non-Hispanic white, 77% private insurance) who utilized telemedicine were included. Technology use among telemedicine patients was not associated with gender, T1D duration, insurance, distance from the main clinic or rural designation but was associated with ethnicity and A1c. Compared to the main clinic cohort (N = 3636), continuous glucose monitor (CGM) use and pump/CGM combination use was lower among patients participating in clinic-to-clinic telemedicine (CGM: 29.7% vs. 56.0%, P < 0.001; CGM/pump combination: 27.3% vs. 40.3%, P = 0.004). Technology use was associated with lower A1c regardless of cohort. Conclusions: Compared to patients attending in-person clinic, pediatric T1D patients who use clinic-to-clinic telemedicine due to their distance from the main clinic, have lower CGM and combination CGM/pump use. For both telemedicine and main clinic patients, CGM and CGM/pump combination was associated with lower A1c. Additional research is needed to explore reasons for this discrepancy and find methods to improve CGM use in this population.

Managing Patients with Insulin Pumps and Continuous Glucose Monitors in the Hospital: to Wear or Not to Wear.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the USA continues to rise, so does the popularity of diabetes management devices such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps. The use of this technology has been shown to improve outpatient glycemic outcomes and quality of life and oftentimes may be continued in the hospital setting. Our aim is to review the current guidelines and available evidence on the continuation of insulin pumps and CGMs in the inpatient setting. RECENT FINDINGS: Patients with diabetes are at higher risk for hospitalizations and complications due to hyper- or hypoglycemia, metabolic co-morbidities, or as seen recently, more severe illness from infections such as SARS-CoV-2. The maintenance of euglycemia is important to decrease both morbidity and mortality in the hospital setting. There is consensus among experts and medical societies that inpatient use of diabetes technology in carefully selected patients with proper institutional protocols is safe and can improve inpatient glycemic outcomes and reduce hypoglycemia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CGMs played a vital role in managing hyperglycemia in some hospitalized patients. Insulin pumps and CGMs have the potential to transform glycemic management in hospitalized patients. In order for institutions to safely and effectively incorporate these technologies on their inpatient units, hospital-based providers will need to be able to understand how to manage and utilize these devices in their practice in conjunction with diabetes experts.

Evaluation of telephone and virtual visits for routine pediatric diabetes care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIMS: To evaluate pediatric type 1 diabetes telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on assessing the usability of these visits and gathering patient perspectives. METHODS: An online survey, which included a validated telehealth usability questionnaire, was offered via email to families with a telephone or virtual visit since the COVID-19-related cancellation of routine in-person care. Survey data was linked with the British Columbia (BC) Clinical Diabetes Registry. Outcomes between groups were assessed using Welch's t-test. Associations with type of visit as well as with desire to return to in-person care were assessed with logistic regression models. RESULTS: The response rate was 47%. Of 141 survey respondents, 87 had clinical data available in the BC Clinical Diabetes Registry, and thus were included in our analysis. Overall, telephone and virtual visits were rated highly for usability. Telephone visits were easier to learn to use, and simpler to understand; however, telephone and virtual visits were similar across multiple areas. No factors associated with choosing one type of visit over the other, or with desire to return to in-person care, could be identified. 72% of participants want future telehealth care; however, some would like all future care to be in-person. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone and virtual visits had impressive usability. Many families want telehealth to play a significant part in their future care.