For diabetes specialists, estimated average glucose makes sense

Abstract

Pharmacists who specialize in diabetes treatment are embracing a recommendation from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to talk to patients about their estimated average glucose (eAG) value. ADA made the recommendation after results from the A1c-Derived Average Glucose (ADAG) study were published in the August 2008 issue of Diabetes Care. The study verified that eAG, which is expressed as milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood, correlates with glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels as a measure of long-term blood glucose control in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. “We all were kind of waiting for this study to come out,” said Lisa Kroon, executive vice chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy and the clinical pharmacist at the UCSF Diabetes Clinic. Kroon said the benefit of eAG for patients is that it describes their three-month blood glucose control in the same units that display on their home glucose meters.