title: A method for assessing quality of control from glucose profiles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As the practice of multiple assessments of glucose concentration throughout the day increases for people with diabetes, there is a need for an assessment of glycaemic control weighted for the clinical risks of both hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We have developed a methodology to report the degree of risk which a glycaemic profile represents. Fifty diabetes professionals assigned risk values to a range of 40 blood glucose concentrations. Their responses were summarised and a generic function of glycaemic risk was derived. This function was applied to patient glucose profiles to generate an integrated risk score termed the Glycaemic Risk Assessment Diabetes Equation (GRADE). The GRADE score was then reported by use of the mean value and the relative percent contribution to the weighted risk score from the hypoglycaemic, euglycaemic, hyperglycaemic range, respectively, e.g. GRADE (hypoglycaemia%, euglycaemia%, hyperglycaemia%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The GRADE scores of indicative glucose profiles were as follows: continuous glucose monitoring profile non-diabetic subjects GRADE = 1.1, Type 1 diabetes continuous glucose monitoring GRADE = 8.09 (20%, 8%, 72%), Type 2 diabetes home blood glucose monitoring GRADE = 9.97 (2%, 7%, 91%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The GRADE score of a glucose profile summarises the degree of risk associated with a glucose profile. Values < 5 correspond to euglycaemia. The GRADE score is simple to generate from any blood glucose profile and can be used as an adjunct to HbA1c to report the degree of risk associated with glycaemic variability.
authors: Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors: N R
authors: NR
authors: Hill
authors: P C
authors: PC
authors: Hindmarsh
authors: R J
authors: RJ
authors: Stevens
authors: I M
authors: IM
authors: Stratton
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Levy
authors: D R
authors: DR
authors: Matthews
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D038321:Glycemic Index; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose