title: Practical approaches for self-monitoring of blood glucose: an Asia-Pacific perspective.
abstract: Comprehensive glycemic control is necessary to improve outcomes and avoid complications in individuals with diabetes. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is a key enabler of glycemic assessment, providing real-time information that complements HbA1c monitoring and supports treatment optimization. However, SMBG is under-utilized by patients and physicians within the Asia-Pacific region, because of barriers such as the cost of monitoring supplies, lack of diabetes self-management skills, or concerns about the reliability of blood glucose readings. Practice recommendations in international and regional guidelines vary widely, and may not be detailed or specific enough to guide SMBG use effectively. This contributes to uncertainty among patients and physicians about how best to utilize this tool: when and how often to test, and what action(s) to take in response to high or low readings. In developing a practical SMBG regimen, the first step is to determine the recommended SMBG frequency and intensity needed to support the chosen treatment regimen. If there are practical obstacles to monitoring, such as affordability or access, physicians should identify the most important aspects of glycemic control to target for individual patients, and modify monitoring patterns accordingly. This consensus paper proposes a selection of structured, flexible SMBG patterns that can be tailored to the clinical, educational, behavioral, and financial requirements of individuals with diabetes.
authors: Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital , Kolkata , India.
authors: Subhankar
authors: S
authors: Chowdhury
authors: Linong
authors: L
authors: Ji
authors: Sompongse
authors: S
authors: Suwanwalaikorn
authors: Neng-Chun
authors: NC
authors: Yu
authors: Eng Kiat
authors: EK
authors: Tan
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010139:Pacific Islands; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055502:Secondary Prevention / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin
keywords: Diabetes education; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes self-management; Glucometer; Insulin; Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG)