Telemetric continuous glucose monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic in isolated hospitalized patients in Denmark - a randomized controlled exploratory trial.

Klarskov, Carina Kirstine; Windum, Nicole Avlund; Olsen, Mikkel Thor; Dungu, Arnold Matuvo; Jensen, Andreas Kryger; Lindegaard, Birgitte; Pedersen-Bjergaard, Ulrik; Lommer Kristensen, Peter

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether telemetric continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in hospitalized and isolated patients with diabetes mellitus and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with better glycaemic control and fewer patient-health care worker contacts compared to blood glucose monitoring by traditional point-of-care (POC) glucose testing and to investigate the user aspect of implementing a CGM-system in-hospital. METHODS A randomized controlled exploratory trial was performed on hospitalized and isolated patients with diabetes and COVID-19 from May 2020 until February 2021 at Nordsjællands Hospital, Denmark. Participants were randomized to nonblinded telemetric CGM (as the only glucose monitoring meth-od) or traditional POC glucose testing + blinded CGM. The primary endpoint was Time In Range (TIR) based on CGM data in both groups. A questionnaire about the user aspect of the CGM system was answered by health care personnel (HCP). RESULTS We included 64 participants in the analysis, 31 in the CGM group and 33 in the POC glucose group. TIR median was 46% for the CGM group and 68% for the POC glucose group (p=0.368). The mean glucose value for the CGM group was 11.1 mmol/L and 10.8 mmol/L in the POC glucose group (p=0.372). CGM was associated with fewer POC glucose measurements (p<0.001). Out of 30 HCPs, 28 preferred telemetric CGM over POC glucose testing. CONCLUSION Remote glucose monitoring by CGM did not improve glycaemic outcomes compared to traditional POC glucose testing but was associated with fewer patient-personnel contacts, saving time for HCPs performing diabetes-related tasks. Most HCPs preferred CGM.