EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF FLASH GLUCOSE MONITORING (FGM) SYSTEMS ON DIABETES MANAGEMENT AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES IN SAUDI ARABIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW STUDY

Acceptability and use of flash glucose monitoring devices among diabetic patients has been gaining popularity since its introduction. The efficacy and safety of these devices have been studied by many researchers and published data from Saudi Arabia. However, there is hardly any systematic review conducted to gather all literature published from Saudi Arabia over this topic. Therefore, present study conducted with the aim to systematically review the safety and efficacy of FGM devices from the published studies between 2020 and 2025 from Saudi Arabia. Literature search was conducted by using Web of Science and Scopus databases. The MeSH terms were derived first for each database to search the literature. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were then applied to the searched literature, and 13 studies were passed through the criterion and included in the present systematic review. From the extracted data, it was observed that most of the studies were conducted on type 1 diabetic patients and pediatric diabetic patients were barely focused. However, all included studies reported that HbA1c level at the start and end of study period and data showed significant reduction in HbA1c level except 2 out of 13 studies. Moreover, reduction in diabetic related adverse events was clearly evident in the included studies. Frequency of hypoglycemic events or diabetic ketoacidosis reduced significantly. Hence, it was found that FGM devices play a significant role in reducing HbA1c level. Moreover, these devices also found beneficial in reducing diabetes related adverse events. Therefore, it can be concluded from the review of the literature published from Saudi Arabia that FGM devices are safe and effective for the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Keywords: Flash glucose monitoring, Efficacy, Safety, Diabetes, Review, Saudi Arabia