Table 1.

Specific Goals for Performing Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose by Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Specific goals for SMBG	Type 1 diabetes	Type 2 diabetes
Assessment of fasting, preprandial, and postprandial blood glucose control	Yes	Yes
Insulin dose adjustment	Yes	Yes, in patients treated with insulin
Prevention of hypoglycemia	Yes	Yes, in patients treated with insulin or sulfonylureas
Intensified blood glucose control during physical activity, acute illness, etc.	Yes	Yes
Detecting clinically silent hypoglycemia	Yes, in subjects with hypoglycemia unawareness	No
Blood glucose control at any occasion suspected of being or might have been caused by a sudden swing in glycemia	Yes	Yes

SMBG, self-monitoring of blood glucose.