A comparison of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in diabetes management: A systematic literature review

Background and aims

As diabetes prevalence has continued to increase in the United States, as well as globally, utilization of disease management techniques has also improved. The evolution in disease management for diabetes has adapted greatly from the initial dipstix method. Continuous glucose monitors have grown in popularity with its introduction to the market. After introduction of CGMs as part of DM management, various advancements have been made to the current models to promote the usage CGMs to promote glycemic control. The main competitors in the CGM market is Medtronic, Dexcom, Freestyle, and Eversense.

Methods

Information was primarily gathered by employing various PubMed scholarly articles for real-world examples in addition to data extraction from supplementary manuscripts. Articles were evaluated from over the past 20 years.

Results

Clinically improvement of disease management of blood glucose levels, specifically with regards to mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was utilized to highlight effectiveness of continuous glucose monitors.

Conclusion

Of the four key continuous glucose monitors device on the market in the US, all have demonstrated to have similar beneficial qualities which can be utilized in both T1DM and T2DM patients. The best device for an individual would be based on their specific diabetes management goal (maintain TIR, decreasing TBR/TAR, decrease A1c).