Continuous glucose monitor shows potential for early hypoglycemia detection in hospitalized patients.

OBJECTIVE

This study shows the potential of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for the detection of hypoglycemia in hospitalized patients.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A Medtronic Diabetes (Northridge, CA) CGMS iPro continuous glucose recorder was inserted into the subcutaneous tissue of a hospitalized orthopedic surgery patient with type 1 diabetes the day after a moderate hypoglycemia event. The interstitial fluid glucose concentration was recorded every 5 min. Both the patient and the hospital staff were blinded to the CGM data. Bedside capillary blood glucose measurements were performed per hospital protocol.

RESULTS

The CGM recorded a repeat severe episode of hypoglycemia the next day. The hospital-defined threshold for hypoglycemia (70 mg/dL) was crossed 4.5 h prior to the patient being found unconscious by the nursing staff.

CONCLUSION

Data from the CGMS iPro Recorder illustrate the potential benefit of using a real-time CGM in the hospital to detect hypoglycemia in a more timely fashion compared to infrequent point-of-care glucose meter measurements.