Assessing the influence of home-based capillary blood glucose monitoring on healthcare utilization and glycemic management in diabetes
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the relationship between home capillary blood glucose self-monitoring (CBGSM) with glycemic management and the number of consultations and capillary glucose strips consumed—a random sample of 422 patients with diabetes mellitus from a CBGSM program in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. We have collected data on the number of consultations with physicians, nurses, and the multi-professional team, the use of glucose strips and bottles of insulin and sociodemographic data. Patients with poor glycemic management showed a lower crude frequency of nurse consultations (4.9±4.8, p=0.011). A strong negative correlation was found between the consumption of glucose strips and the value of HbA1c (r=-0.758; p=0.0029). Another strong correlation observed was between the consumption of regular human insulin and the frequency of medical consultations (r=-0.815; p=0.0014). Our findings suggest that patients in CBGSM with higher use of capillary glucose strips were associated with good glycemic management.