Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring with Alerts Improves Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetes

Intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitors (isCGM) must be scanned manually with a receiver or smartphone, whereas more expensive real-time continuous glucose monitors (rtCGM) automatically send readings to a receiver or smartphone every few minutes. Real-time monitors can alert diabetic patients to high or low glucose levels, potentially averting hypoglycemia. But the benefits of switching from isCGM to rtCGM have been unclear.

In the largest and longest comparative trial to date, manufacturer-sponsored researchers enrolled 254 adults with type 1 diabetes (mean glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA_1c], 7.4%) who had been using isCGM for at least 6 months (20% of patients used insulin pumps). Participants were randomized either to continue us…