SUN-537 - Initiating Continuous Glucose Monitoring Prior to Hospital Discharge Improves Patient Satisfaction with Diabetes Care

Objective
Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) are approved for outpatient use and generally covered by insurance in patients with insulin-treated diabetes (DM), but they are not yet approved for inpatient use. Thus, there are few studies assessing the impact of initiating CGM use at the transition between inpatient and ambulatory settings. To improve patient awareness of the utility of CGMs and to improve patient satisfaction in DM care, we conducted a single-center, open-label trial in which participants started using a CGM prior to hospital discharge.

Methods
Twenty-two CGM-naive adults with insulin-treated DM or hyperglycemia who were admitted to our hospital non-intensive care units from April to December 2025 were enrolled. 55% were female and 94% had type 2 DM. Subjects who received inpatient chemotherapy, needed surgery or computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging within 2 weeks, required dialysis or presented in diabetic ketoacidosis/hyperosmotic nonketotic state were excluded. Patients were started on an Abbott Freestyle Libre 3 Plus (L3) or Dexcom G7 (D7) CGM, depending on CGM sample availability and patient preference, and continued using them after discharge until sensors expired or stopped working. Two weeks post-discharge, patients completed a questionnaire regarding their experience. The L3 and D7 CGMs were provided by the hospital discharge programs of Abbott (Abbott Park, IL) and Dexcom, Inc. (San Diego, CA), respectively.

Results
Three subjects could not be reached to complete the questionnaire. One patient withdrew from the study due to other medical conditions. Of the remaining 18 patients (10 on L3, 8 on D7), 78% reported CGM use strongly made their DM care better, with most citing reasons of real-time continuous glucose visibility and reduced burden of fingersticks. Many reported that CGM use helped reinforce healthy behaviors and improved hypoglycemia awareness. 72% reported they were “very likely” to continue CGM use after participating. Premature sensor failure due to poor adhesives and sensor accuracy were the main concerns. 11% said CGM use somewhat made their DM care better, and 11% said CGM use did not make their DM care better or worse. To evaluate the change in degree of familiarity with CGMs (using a Likert scale) before and after participating in the study, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted. Post-intervention scores (Mdn = 4, IQR = 1) differed significantly from pre-intervention scores (Mdn = 2.5, IQR = 3), W = 0, p = 0.0009, two-tailed.

Conclusion
Our data shows that initiation of CGM use before hospital discharge led to improved patient familiarity with CGMs and perception of DM care. This study provides further support to the evidence that CGM initiation in hospitalized patients prior to discharge may improve adherence to glucose monitoring and improve patient satisfaction with DM care, however additional studies are needed to establish this further.

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