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April 2022

Flash technology improves blood glucose control



Research presented at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2022 has revealed Flash technology not only helps improve blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes compared with traditional finger-prick testing, but is also cost-effective, by enabling safer blood glucose levels and reducing the risk of diabetes complications.

The study, funded by Diabetes UK, involved 156 people with type 1 diabetes who had above-target blood glucose levels. After 24 weeks, participants who used Flash had reduced their HbA1c from an average of 71.6 mmol/mol to 62.7 mmol/mol – a reduction of 8.49 mmol/mol. Lowering HbA1c by this amount can decrease the risk of developing diabetes complications in the future by up to 40%. In comparison, those in the finger prick group had reduced their HbA1c on average by only 2.2 mmol/mol by the end of the study.

In addition, those using the Flash technology spent an extra 2 hours a day with their blood glucose levels in the target range and 80% less time with dangerously low blood glucose levels.

The researchers also discovered that and although slightly more expensive than finger-pricking over a lifetime, Flash was highly cost-effective.

Flash glucose monitoring technology was first made available through the NHS in 2017. Currently, about half of people living with type 1 diabetes are prescribed Flash on the NHS. At the end of 2021, NICE launched a consultation on new guidelines which proposed recommending Flash for all people with type 1 diabetes.

DUK 2022
Practice Nurse 2022;52(4):8