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Review
. 2014 Sep;8(5):1035-41.
doi: 10.1177/1932296814532906. Epub 2014 May 19.

Bolus calculators

Signe Schmidt  1 , Kirsten Nørgaard  2
Affiliations
Review

Bolus calculators

Signe Schmidt et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Matching meal insulin to carbohydrate intake, blood glucose, and activity level is recommended in type 1 diabetes management. Calculating an appropriate insulin bolus size several times per day is, however, challenging and resource demanding. Accordingly, there is a need for bolus calculators to support patients in insulin treatment decisions. Currently, bolus calculators are available integrated in insulin pumps, as stand-alone devices and in the form of software applications that can be downloaded to, for example, smartphones. Functionality and complexity of bolus calculators vary greatly, and the few handfuls of published bolus calculator studies are heterogeneous with regard to study design, intervention, duration, and outcome measures. Furthermore, many factors unrelated to the specific device affect outcomes from bolus calculator use and therefore bolus calculator study comparisons should be conducted cautiously. Despite these reservations, there seems to be increasing evidence that bolus calculators may improve glycemic control and treatment satisfaction in patients who use the devices actively and as intended.

Keywords: bolus calculation; bolus calculator; insulin dosing; review; type 1 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: SS has received speaker honoraria from Roche Diagnostics and serves on the advisory board of the same company. KN has received speaker honoraria from Roche Diagnostics, Animas, and Medtronic and serves on the advisory board of Medtronic.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Six days of blinded continuous glucose monitoring before (upper panel) and after (lower panel) introduction of carbohydrate counting and an automated bolus calculator.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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