Continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring is accurate in term and near-term infants at risk of hypoglycaemia.

AIM: Postnatal hypoglycaemia increases the risk of adverse neurological outcomes in newborn infants, and adequate glucose control requires repetitive and painful blood sampling. This study evaluated a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) that aims to improve glucose control and decrease the frequency of blood samples taken from neonates.

METHODS: CGMS sensors, which measure glucose values every five minutes and require calibration twice a day, were placed on 20 infants at risk of hypoglycaemia. The infants also underwent blood glucose sampling, and the blood glucose values were compared with CGMS values six times during the first 30 minutes after sampling.

RESULTS: We used 97/264 (37%) of the blood glucose values taken for the CGMS calibration. The highest accuracy, a mean of 0.22 (95% confidence interval 0.13-0.30 mmol/L), was found 15-19 minutes after sampling, due to the calibration process. No significant subcutaneous glucose time lag was detectable.

CONCLUSION: The CGMS system was an accurate and feasible method for glucose control, provided earlier detection of hypoglycaemia in newborn infants and reduced their exposure to procedural pain. The delay in calibration in infants was a new finding and needs to be taken into account when comparing CGMS readings to blood glucose values.