[From the Cochrane Library and Diabetes Care: self-monitoring of blood glucose probably an effective way to improve glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes not taking insulin].

Self-monitoring of blood glucose has been found to be effective for patients with type I diabetes and for patients with type 2 diabetes taking insulin. There is much debate on the effectiveness of self-monitoring of blood glucose in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes who are not taking insulin. A systematic review of 6 randomised controlled trials comparing self-monitoring of blood glucose with standard care, self-monitoring of urine glucose, or both showed that self-monitoring of blood glucose may be effective in improving glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes who are not using insulin. There was scant data on patient-related outcomes, such as quality of life, well being and satisfaction. Therefore, more large long-term studies of high quality are needed.