USER ACCEPTABILITY OF FREESTYLE (FS) LIBRE FLASH GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEM IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
The use of Freestyle (FS) Libre flash glucose monitoring system (FGM) helps to overcome barriers with conventional glucometer. It allows continuous glucose reading without the need for finger prick user calibration. The aim of this survey was to assess the user acceptability of the device in patients with diabetes.

METHODOLOGY

This is a 12-week cross-sectional study performed among patients with diabetes who were put on intermittent use of the FS FGM system for 12 weeks. The patients’ user acceptability was collected in a questionnaire using the 5-point Likert scale (‘Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Indifferent, Agree, Strongly Agree’) on a series of questions concerning (i) Ease of use and application of device (ii)Comfort and usage (iii) The operation of device (iv) Efficiency of device in disease management and compliance (v) Patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

The study included 100 patients with the following breakdown in DM types: T1DM (n=42), T2DM (n=47) and DM in pregnancy (n=11). The mean duration of diabetes was 13 years. About 98% of patients find that the instruction for FS Libre was easy to understand. More than 91% of patients felt that it was easy to use, makes life easier and has a small glucose sensor. Only 17.7% of patients experienced local discomfort while wearing the glucose sensor. About 86.5% of patients felt that the glucose sensor did not interfere with daily activities. Around 88.8% of patients felt that the FS Libre could replace the finger-prick SMBG as a monitoring device. More that 97% of patients agreed that this method is faster, simplified and assisted in the adjustment of insulin dose. Majority of patients (95.8%) preferred FS Libre compared to their previous SMBG system.

CONCLUSION
The user experience of FS libre based on ease of use, application, operation and comfort, efficiency in disease management and patient satisfaction were demonstrated in this study.