TYP 1 & TYPE 2
`
`PRACTICAL L I V I N G
`[ news you can use]
`
`Continuous Glucose Monitors For Kids
`11
`
`IN MARCH, the U.S. Food
`and Drug Administration
`approved two continuou
`gluco e monitoring sy tern for
`children with diabetes between
`the age of 7 and 17. The e new
`models of ystems already in
`u e by adult should be avail(cid:173)
`able by the end of thi ummer.
`Continuou gluco e monitor(cid:173)
`ing (CGM) ystem work via a
`sen or worn under the skin that
`mea ure gluco e in inter titial
`fluid (fluid between cell ) every
`5 minute . The sensor tran mit
`these data wirelessly to a de(cid:173)
`vice, kind of like a pager which
`give a readout of blood gluco e
`value . The FDA require that
`patient be in tructed to u e tra(cid:173)
`ditional monitor and finger-
`tick mea urement to calibrate
`CGM device and to confirm
`CGM readings before making
`treatment decisions.
`Both of the new system
`are made by the company
`Medtronic. The pediatric model
`of the Guardian REAL-time
`ystem i a tand-alone CGM
`system while the pediatric
`model of the MiniMed Para(cid:173)
`digm REAL-time system i
`integrated with an in ulin pump.
`It does not automatically deliver
`in ulin do e in respon e to
`gluco e readings however; pa(cid:173)
`tient mu t till program pump
`manually. Both pediatric ver-
`ion feature a preprogrammed
`alarm that ounds when blo d
`gluco e reaches 90 mg/dl or
`below. Thi FDA-mandated
`
`safety feature alerts children(cid:173)
`and their parents-
`to po
`ible
`low blood gluco e. The adult
`ver ion allow patient to et
`their own alarm thre hold for
`low blood gluco e.
`"I'm very much in favor of
`for anyone who i
`these devic
`motivated to improve their
`diabete , ays Bruce Bucking(cid:173)
`ham, MD, a profes or of pediat(cid:173)
`ric endocrinology at Stanford
`Univer ity School of Medicine
`who ha written roughly 25
`cientific paper on COM. And
`indeed Buckingham'
`tudie
`have hown that CGM can help
`motivated kid get better blood
`glucose control. He say h
`ha
`een patient improve their
`management at mealtime and
`avoid low at night.
`Buckingham does offer one
`caution about the new y tern :
`
`He's concerned that frequent
`and unnece ary alarm might
`di rupt children'
`leep becau e
`of the pre et pediatric alarm
`threshold of 90 mg/dl.
`The device are only avail(cid:173)
`able by pre cription for adult
`and chi ldren. No major insur(cid:173)
`ance carrier cover CGM at
`thi time. In urance coverage
`for adult and pediatric version
`could be 2 to 3 years away,
`ays Steve Sabicer, senior man(cid:173)
`ager of public relatioa with
`Medtronic in Lo Angeles. The
`Guardian y tern co ts $1 399
`and the Paradigm y tern co t
`$999 (in urance typically cover
`the cost of the insulin pump). A
`monthly upply of en or co t
`350. The pediatric ver ion
`hould co t roughly the ame,
`says Sabicer.
`
`- Kate Ruder
`
`D I ABETES F O RECAST
`
`j AUGUS T 2007
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`123
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