Background: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the difference in the proportion of patients with conventionally detected hypoglycemia compared with continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS, Medtronic MiniMed, Sylmar, CA)-detected glucose values < or = 60 mg/dL (< or = 3.3 mmol/L), during the 72-h CGMS measurement period after 8 weeks' treatment with insulin glargine.
Methods: This was a multicenter (n = 125), open-label, single-arm study in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on multiple daily injections. Patients received NPH insulin (2-week run-in) followed by glargine (8-week treatment phase). Glucose levels were measured by CGMS and self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG) profiles over the 72-h pre- and post-treatment phase.
Results: The full analysis set contained 367 patients [male 59%; mean age 59.2 years; mean body mass index 31.7 kg/m(2); mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 6.9%]. At end point, 209 patients (56.9%) experienced hypoglycemia according to CGMS; 97 (26.4%) recorded hypoglycemia by conventional methods. CGMS- and SMBG-determined mean daytime glucose levels were similar at baseline and end point; however, nocturnal glucose levels were significantly lower with CGMS versus SMBG at baseline [130.2 vs. 145.0 mg/dL (7.2 vs. 8.1 mmol/L)] and at end point [123.3 vs. 137.3 mg/dL (6.8 vs. 7.6 mmol/L)]. Glucose levels measured by CGMS and SMBG decreased, and HbA1c levels decreased from 6.90% at screening to 6.67% at end point (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that CGMS can be successfully employed in large clinical trial settings in patients with T2DM. This easy-to-implement method may provide additional insights into glucose levels and valuable information regarding the time patients spend within the preferred glucose range.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00354939.