Efficacy of intermittent short-term use of a real-time continuous glucose monitoring system in non-insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of intermittent short-term use of a real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM) system in non-insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) uncontrolled with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs). Materials and Methods: In this multicentre, randomized prospective study, 61 participants were randomly assigned to treatment group 1 (one session of RT-CGM), treatment group 2 (two sessions of RT-CGM with a 3-month interval between sessions) and a control group. All participants used blinded continuous glucose monitoring for up to 6 days with education before randomization, and RT-CGM was additionally applied for 1 week in the intervention groups. The primary outcome was change in HbA1c at 6 months. Results: Among 61 participants, 48 subjects completed the study (baseline HbA1c 8.2% +/- 0.5%). At 3 months, a significant HbA1c reduction was observed in treatment group 1 (adjusted difference - 0.60%, P = .044) and treatment group 2 (adjusted difference = - 0.64%, P = .014) compared with the control group. However, at 6 months, only treatment group 2 achieved a significant HbA1c reduction (adjusted difference = - 0.68%, P = .018). Especially in the treatment groups, patients performing self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) at least 1.5 times/day showed a significant HbA1c improvement, at both 3 and 6 months, but those performing SMBG less than 1.5 times/day showed no significant improvement. Conclusions: In non-insulin-treated patients with T2D uncontrolled with OADs, intermittent short-term use of RT-CGM was an effective method for glucose control, especially in those performing SMBG frequently.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the efficacy of intermittent short-term use of a real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM) system in non-insulin-treated patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. The results showed that both treatment groups using the RT-CGM system achieved significant HbA1c reduction at 3 and 6 months, particularly in patients performing self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) frequently.