Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose, Cutaneous Finger Injury, and Sensory Loss in Diabetic Patients

To achieve glycemic targets and prevent complications of diabetes, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is recommended three or more times daily, especially in patients treated with insulin (1). However, increasing the number of these tests may provoke unexpected adverse events (2). The manner in which diabetic patients perform SMBG and its outcomes, including pain, finger injury, and sensory loss, were studied in 165 consecutive diabetic patients, from four French specialized centers, who were performing SMBG at least three times daily. The mean ± SD duration of diabetes was 17 ± 12 years and A1C was 8.1 ± 1.4%; 90% were …