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. 2022 Oct;38(7):e3560.
doi: 10.1002/dmrr.3560. Epub 2022 Jul 5.

A head-to-head comparison between Guardian Connect and FreeStyle Libre systems and an evaluation of user acceptability of sensors in patients with type 1 diabetes

Ester Yeoh  1   2 , Doanna Png  1 , Jonathon Khoo  3 , Ying Jie Chee  2 , Puja Sharda  1 , Serena Low  3 , Su Chi Lim  1   3 , Tavintharan Subramaniam  1   3
Affiliations

A head-to-head comparison between Guardian Connect and FreeStyle Libre systems and an evaluation of user acceptability of sensors in patients with type 1 diabetes

Ester Yeoh et al. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Aims: A user-calibrated real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rt-CGM) system is compared to a factory-calibrated flash glucose monitoring (FGM) system and assessed in terms of accuracy and acceptability in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: Ten participants with T1D were enroled from a specialist diabetes centre in Singapore and provided with the Guardian Connect with Enlite Sensor (Medtronic, Northridge, CA, USA) and first-generation Freestyle Libre System (Abbott Diabetes Care, Witney, UK), worn simultaneously. Participants had to check capillary blood glucose four times per day. At the end of week 1 and week 2, participants returned for data download and were given a user evaluation survey.

Results: Accuracy evaluation between Guardian Connect and Freestyle Libre includes the overall mean absolute relative difference value (9.7 ± 11.0% vs. 17.5 ± 10.9%), Clarke Error Grid zones A + B (98.6% vs. 98.1%), sensitivity (78.9% vs. 63.4%), and specificity (93.4% vs. 81.0%). Notably, time below range (<3.9 mmol/L) was 10.5% for FGM versus 2% for rt-CGM. From the evaluation survey, 90% of participants perceived rt-CGM to be accurate versus 40% for FGM, although the majority found both devices to be easy to use, educational, and useful in improving glycaemic control. However, due to the cost of sensors, only 30% were keen to use either device for continuous monitoring.

Conclusions: Although rt-CGM was superior to FGM in terms of accuracy, the value of glucose trends in both devices is still useful in diabetes self-management. Patients and clinicians may consider either technology depending on their requirements.

Keywords: capillary blood glucose; continuous glucose monitoring; diabetes mellitus; flash glucose monitoring.

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References

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