Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The FreeStyle Libre is increasingly employed in the management of T1DM. This audit examined if users are meeting the recommended competencies set out in the London prescribing guidelines, to ascertain if users are aware of and utilising inbuilt features of the Libre, to identify if user training can be enhanced, and to see if Libre use improves patients’ quality of life as a result of Libre use.

Methods: The audit was conducted via a structured questionnaire, administered via phone interview by consenting users of the FreeStyle Libre.

Results: Eighteen Libre users participated in the audit (patient ages 7–17 years), among whom length of use ranged from 2 weeks to 3 years; 6 patients were on MDI and 12 were on CSII. Libre users showed a good familiarity with the features of the Libre; 94% of participants use the majority (>50%) of the in-built features of the Libre to gain an overall picture of their/their child’s glucose levels and monitor or direct ongoing treatment. The three most utilised features are the logbook (89%), daily graph (89%), and average glucose (85%); all of which are deemed beneficial by the majority of participants. Only 67% of participants download their data. All participants feel the FreeStyle Libre is superior to conventional capillary blood glucose testing. Features of the Libre that enhance the users’ quality of life were superiority to finger pricking (67%), use of trend arrows to help management (67%), allowing children to manage their own care (61%), convenience (56%), the ability to see patterns and analyse glycaemic control over time (50%), the ability to help parents monitor their child’s glucose when they are apart (50%), and peace of mind/confidence in treatment (22%).

Conclusion: The FreeStyle Libre is considered life-changing technology by the majority of participants; the majority of inbuilt features are utilised by Libre users and deemed beneficial. Although recommended minimum competencies are confirmed as being met, future in house training will focus on how to maximise these features and emphasise the need to download data. The audit confirms many quality of life benefits for Libre users.