title: Establishment of blood glucose monitoring system using the internet.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Internet is used worldwide as a communication tool. To improve the quality of diabetes control, we investigated the effectiveness of an Internet-based blood glucose monitoring system (IBGMS) on controlling the changes in HbA(1c) levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a randomized clinical trial involving 110 patients who visited the outpatient clinic at the Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital for 3 months. The study subjects were treated with IBGMS for 12 weeks, and the control group received the usual outpatient management over the same period. HbA(1c) and other laboratory tests were performed twice, once at the beginning of the study and again at the end of the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The test results from the beginning of the study established that there were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to age, sex, diabetes duration, BMI, blood pressure, HbA(1c), and other laboratory data. On follow-up examination 12 weeks later, HbA(1c) levels were significantly decreased from 7.59 to 6.94% within the intervention group (P < 0.001). At the end of the study, HbA(1c) levels in the intervention group were significantly lower than in the control group after adjusting the baseline HbA(1c) (6.94 vs. 7.62%; P < 0.001, respectively). Among patients with baseline HbA(1c) <7.0%, the patients in the intervention group had lower HbA(1c) than those in the control group (6.38 vs. 6.99%; P < 0.05). Among the patients with a baseline HbA(1c) > or = 7.0%, the difference between the two groups appeared more obvious: HbA(1c) levels at the end of the study were 8.12%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new IBGMS resulted in a significant reduction of HbA(1c) during the study period. We propose that this IBGMS be used as a method for improving diabetes control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyuk-Sang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Jae-Hyoung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hee-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bok-Re
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Seung-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Jung-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung-Rae
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang-Ah
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hee-Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Bong-Yun
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Kwang-Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ho-Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Jin-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Won-Chul
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kun-Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012648:Self Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose