Assessment of glycaemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus on insulin therapy

摘要

Achieving good glycaemic control reduces the risk of micro-, and over the longer-term, macro-vascular complications in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. However, only about half of them achieve their glycaemic targets. Amongst the many causes for this failure, inadequate assessment of glycaemic control plays a significant role. A number of techniques are currently available to assess glycaemic control in insulin-treated patients with diabetes. Estimation of glycated haemoglobin (HbA_(1c)) provides an index of glycaemic control over the past three-four months. However, it does not give any information regarding 'real-time' day-to-day blood glucose values, glycaemic variability, and risk of hypoglycaemia. Self-monitoring of capillary blood glucose (SMBG), using point-of-care glucometers, provides 'real-time' blood glucose measurement providing immediate information regarding hypo- or hyperglycaemia.