Diabetes - Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG)

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Self-Monitoring Of Blood Glucose (SMBG) is one of the greatest advancements that has taken place in the management of Diabetes.

The cost of treating diabetes in the United States reached $132 billion in the year 2002. In India the incidence of diabetes over the last decade has risen significantly. The two great advancements in the management of 'Diabetes Mellitus' in the last hundred years have been the discovery of insulin in 1922, and the development of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) levels in 1978.

The current advancement has made self-monitoring very simple and fairly accurate. SMBG makes it simple for patients to get an FBG (fasting blood glucose) or PPBG (post prandial blood glucose) checked at home without the need to visit a laboratory or visit a diabetologist to get their medications altered.

Blood testing for sugar (carbohydrate in food gets converted to glucose in the blood) is a more direct and accurate method of checking the level of glucose in the body. Sugars can also be checked in the urine but this is an indirect method and does not accurately reflect the control of sugar in the body.

References:

1. Self-monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG): Now and the Future -Amber L. Briggs,Journal of Pharmacy Practice, Vol. 17, No. 1, 29-38 (2004)
2. Heagarty, Margaret C. Life-style change: a difficult challenge. Pediatrics. 1976; 58:314-5.