Performance of the Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System During Cardiac Surgery Using Hypothermic Extracorporeal Circulation

OBJECTIVE Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) may be challenged by extreme conditions during cardiac surgery using hypothermic extracorporeal circulation (ECC). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We evaluated the Dexcom G6 sensor in 16 subjects undergoing cardiac surgery with hypothermic ECC, of whom 11 received deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). Arterial blood glucose, quantified by the Accu-Chek Inform II meter, served as reference. RESULTS Intrasurgery mean absolute relative difference (MARD) of 256 paired CGM/reference values was 23.8%. MARD was 29.1% during ECC (154 pairs) and 41.6% immediately after DHCA (10 pairs), with a negative bias (signed relative difference: -13.7%, -26.6%, and -41.6%). During surgery, 86.3% pairs were in Clarke error grid zones A or B and 41.0% of sensor readings fulfilled the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15197:2013 norm. Postsurgery, MARD was 15.0%. CONCLUSIONS Cardiac surgery using hypothermic ECC challenges the accuracy of the Dexcom G6 CGM although recovery appears to occur thereafter.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the performance of the Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system during cardiac surgery with hypothermic extracorporeal circulation (ECC). The accuracy of the CGM was challenged during ECC and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA), but seemed to recover post-surgery. The percentage of CGM values within the accepted error range varied during different stages of the surgery.