Blood Glucose Test Strips

Treatment

In combination with lifestyle measures (weight control, proper nutrition, and adequate exercise) treatments such as self-monitoring of blood glucose are recommended approaches to improving glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Condition

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by the body’s inability to produce enough insulin or to use it properly. The condition is classified as follows:

  • Type 1 diabetes results when little or no insulin is made by the body.
  • Type 2 diabetes results when the body makes insulin but is unable to use it effectively.
  • Gestational diabetes presents during pregnancy as glucose intolerance and is usually a temporary condition.

An estimated 2.4 million Canadians have diabetes: 90% of patients have type 2 diabetes mellitus and 10% have type 1 diabetes mellitus. For patients with diabetes, health care costs and costs attributable to premature death and lost productivity exceed more than $9 billion per year. Canada’s aging population and rising rates of obesity suggest that the number of Canadians with type 2 diabetes mellitus will continue to increase.

The chronic complications of diabetes mellitus affect many organs and are responsible for the majority of mortality and morbidity associated with the disease.

Health care providers, consumers, and policy makers require timely, evidence-based information they can rely on to help treat this disease.

Scope of Blood Glucose Test Strip Topic

The frequency of using blood glucose test strips is one of a number of topics that COMPUS has taken on in conjunction with our overall diabetes management priority area.

Topics include:

Despite widespread use, the benefits of self-monitoring of blood glucose, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes not using insulin, and the optimum frequency of testing has not been defined. Further, costs associated with self-monitoring of blood glucose are high and rising steadily due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes in Canada and higher rates of self-monitoring.

COMPUS’s Advisory Committee (representing Canadian health jurisdictions) recommended that we review the clinical and economic evidence relating to the optimal prescribing and use of self-monitoring of blood glucose. Key research questions include:

  • What is the optimal blood glucose testing frequency in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus?
  • What is the optimal blood glucose testing frequency in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus?

Refer to our Project Status web page to find out what stage we are at in this project.

COMPUS Research

To assist policy makers and healthcare providers in making informed decisions on the optimal prescribing and use of blood glucose test strips, COMPUS builds on existing applicable Canadian and international initiatives and research, using the following approaches:

  • Identifying evidence-based optimal therapy in prescribing and use of self-monitoring of blood glucose

  • Identifying gaps in clinical practice, then proposing evidence-based interventions to address these gaps

  • Supporting the implementation of these interventions.