Summary:
SMBG is a crucial factor in diabetes management. It offers
a quick check of glycemic status, helps to identify
hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. In addition SMBG assists
in clinical decision making and as such it complements
HbA1c. But due to many reasons SMBG is not practiced
properly and adequately. In recent years several
international guidelines higllighted the importance of
SMBG for diabetes management. Very few diabetic patients
in Bangladesh actually perform SMBG regularly at home.
The awareness of the benefits of SMBG is also low. There
is no uniformity in SMBG practice among the patients as
there is no local guideline to help the physicians in
determining the optimum SMBG frequency for their
patients. So a working guideline on SMBG is the call of the
day. This article is an attempt in that direction. Exploring
international guidelines and evaluating their applicability
in local context a number of recommendations have been
proposed.