The NHS could save millions every year by offering continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) to pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, according to cost-effectiveness data.
The addition of real-time CGM to capillary blood glucose testing during pregnancy reduced the incidence of large-for-gestational-age babies, the number and length of neonatal intensive care admissions, and newborn hypoglycaemia in the CONCEPTT trial. When considering the mother, adding CGM to fingerprick testing increased the amount of time spent in the normal glycaemic range and reduced the length of hyperglycaemic periods. When all of the costs were taken into account, the use of CGM in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes was found to save about £2,500 per pregnancy and birth.
Adding CGM to routine therapy between weeks 10 and 38 of gestation would result in an estimated saving of £9,560,461 for NHS England based on an average of 1,441 pregnancies in women with type 1 diabetes each year. The main cost savings would be due to a significant reduction in neonate intensive care unit admissions and shorter durations of hospital stay.
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