Blood sugar surveillance for diabetes patients

Importance of blood sugar surveillance

1. Understanding the condition of blood sugar: Through blood sugar monitoring, patients are able to obtain a visual understanding of their blood sugar levels, thus determining the effectiveness of their diet, exercise and medication.

2. Prevention of complications: Long-term high blood sugar can lead to micro- and large-vascular complications associated with diabetes, such as retinasis, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, etc. Through blood sugar surveillance, patients can detect high blood sugar incidents in a timely manner and take measures to intervene to reduce the risk of complications.

3. Adapting treatment programmes: The results of blood sugar surveillance can provide doctors with important reference information to help them adjust their patients ‘ treatment programmes to achieve better blood sugar control.

4. Improving the quality of life: through effective blood sugar monitoring and management, patients can better control their condition and reduce discomfort and complications caused by high or low blood sugar, thereby improving the quality of life.

II. Methodologies for blood sugar monitoring

1. Self-Sweet Surveillance (SMBG): Self-Sweet Surveillance is the most common blood sugar surveillance method for diabetics. It collects a drop of blood at the tip of the finger and obtains instant blood sugar by using portable blood sugar and test paper. SMBG has the advantage of being simple, quick and relatively low-cost. It should be noted, however, that SMBG can only reflect blood sugar levels at one point in time and does not fully reflect trends in blood sugar.

2. Continuous blood sugar monitoring (CGM): Continuous blood sugar monitoring is a new type of blood sugar monitoring technology, which monitors blood sugar levels in real time through a sensor implanted in the skin and transmits data to receivers or smart phones. CGM can continuously monitor changes in blood sugar, provide blood sugar trend maps and alarms, help patients to better understand the condition of blood sugar and take measures to intervene. However, CGM costs are relatively high and require periodic change of sensors.

3. Tests for sugared haemoglobins (HbA1c); the glucose haemoglobin test is a test method that reflects the average blood sugar levels over the last 2-3 months. It assesses blood sugar levels by measuring the proportion of blood hemoglobin sugar. The HbA1c test has the advantage that no frequent sampling is required to reflect longer-term blood sugar levels. However, the results of the HbA1c test were influenced by factors such as erythrocyte longevity, anaemia, and did not reflect immediate changes in blood sugar.

Frequency of blood sugar monitoring

1. Newly diagnosed diabetics: At the beginning of treatment, blood sugar needs to be monitored more frequently to understand the efficacy and safety of the drug.

2. Patients with high blood sugar fluctuations: For patients with high blood sugar fluctuations, there is a need to increase the frequency of blood sugar monitoring in order to detect and deal with high or low blood sugar incidents in a timely manner.

3. Insulin treatment patients: Insulin treatment patients need to monitor blood sugar more frequently to adjust insulin dosages and to avoid low blood sugar.

4. Patients during special periods, e.g. during pregnancy, infection, pre- and post-surgery, need to increase the frequency of blood sugar surveillance to ensure the stability and safety of blood sugar.

IV. Attention to blood sugar surveillance

1. Select the appropriate monitoring time and method: On the basis of the doctor ‘ s advice and his/her own actual situation, select the appropriate monitoring time and method. For example, SMBG can take place before, after, before sleeping; CGM can monitor changes in blood sugar around the clock.

Keep hands clean and dry: Before blood samples are collected, clean and dry hands are required to avoid contamination of test paper and impact measurements.

3. Correct operation of the blood sugar instrument: correct operation of the blood sugar instrument in accordance with the instructions for the use of the blood sugar instrument to ensure the accuracy of the measurements.

4. Recording of blood sugar values: After each blood sugar measure, it is necessary to record blood sugar values and measurement time so that doctors can assess and adjust treatment programmes.

5. Timely handling of anomalies: Where abnormally high or low blood sugar values are found, timely measures such as diet adjustment, increased exercise, and dose adjustment are required.

6. Periodic calibration of the blood glucose instrument: The blood sugar instrument requires regular calibration to ensure the accuracy of the measurement results. Generally, calibration of blood sugar is required at least once a year.

V. blood sugar surveillance and lifestyle interventions

Blood sugar surveillance and lifestyle interventions are mutually reinforcing. Lifestyle interventions such as reasonable dietary control, appropriate exercise, good mental state and smoking-free alcohol can help patients better control blood sugar levels. At the same time, the results of blood sugar surveillance can provide important reference information for lifestyle interventions. For example, by monitoring changes in blood sugar before and after meals, patients can learn about the effects of different foods on blood sugar; by monitoring changes in blood sugar before and after the movement, patients can learn about the regulation of blood sugar.

In conclusion, blood sugar surveillance of diabetes patients is an important component of diabetes management. By choosing appropriate monitoring methods, maintaining appropriate monitoring frequencies, paying attention to the details of the monitoring process and combining lifestyle interventions, patients can better understand their own blood sugar control and take appropriate interventions to reduce the risk of complications and improve the quality of life. At the same time, patients are required to communicate regularly with doctors and receive professional guidance and advice.

Diabetes