Clinician’s Brief spotlights modern diabetes monitoring: full analysis
Clinician’s Brief is putting a spotlight on modern diabetes monitoring through a sponsored partner podcast, “Beyond the Glucose Curve: Modern Diabetes Monitoring With Dr. Mott,” hosted by Dr. Beth Mollison and featuring Dr. Jocelyn Mott. On its face, it’s an educational podcast episode. But the timing is notable: veterinary diabetes management is moving beyond the traditional in-clinic glucose curve, and CGM is increasingly part of that conversation in both specialty and general practice. (journals.sagepub.com)
That shift has been building for years. Early veterinary studies evaluated continuous glucose monitoring in dogs and cats as far back as the mid-2000s, but newer factory-calibrated systems have made the technology more practical in clinic and at home. In the 2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines on feline diabetes, CGM is described as having “revolutionised” glucose monitoring by allowing minimally invasive, near-continuous interstitial glucose readings over several days or weeks, reducing the need for repeated blood sampling and giving clinicians more information about glucose fluctuations and trends. (academic.oup.com)
The same guidelines matter here for another reason: Mott is one of the co-authors, underscoring that the podcast guest is not just commenting on the trend, but is directly involved in shaping the current evidence-based framework for feline diabetes care. The document says FreeStyle Libre is the most commonly used CGM device in cats, that the Libre 3 sensor begins recording one hour after application and measures interstitial glucose every minute, and that CGM can help identify events such as diabetic remission or hypoglycemia that may not be obvious from spot checks alone. It also compares CGM with home blood glucose monitoring, noting that CGM offers less intervention while capturing patterns over multiple days, though at higher equipment cost. (journals.sagepub.com)
Published validation work supports that growing use, while also showing the tradeoffs. A 2021 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine study in outpatient diabetic cats found that flash glucose monitoring correlated well with blood glucose measured by an automated biochemistry analyzer, and highlighted why the technology is appealing in practice: small size, affordability, intuitive software, and no need for calibration. At the same time, the authors reported a high rate of sensor failures, a reminder that CGM is useful but not frictionless. Additional veterinary education materials and reviews note that interstitial readings can lag behind blood glucose by up to about 30 minutes, and that performance may be less reliable during rapid glucose changes or in the hypoglycemic range. (academic.oup.com)
Industry and practitioner interest is clearly growing. Research on pet parent perspectives found that flash glucose monitoring can reduce the need for hospital visits by allowing data to be reviewed remotely through connected platforms, potentially making insulin adjustments easier between appointments. Meanwhile, the market is still evolving. Most CGM use in companion animals remains off-label with human devices, but companies are trying to build veterinary-specific alternatives. ALR Technologies, for example, said this week that its GluCurve Pet CGM is now for sale in Canada, following earlier announcements about manufacturing and relaunch plans. (mdpi.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the real story isn’t a single podcast episode. It’s the continued normalization of CGM as part of diabetes management, especially for feline patients. Better trend data can support more precise insulin titration, help detect nocturnal or otherwise missed hypoglycemia, and reduce the confounding effect of stress associated with repeated in-clinic sampling. It may also improve communication with pet parents by giving them a more concrete picture of what’s happening between visits. But practices still need protocols around sensor application, retention, interpretation, cost discussions, and when confirmatory blood glucose testing is still warranted. (academic.oup.com)
The educational framing also matters. Because this Clinician’s Brief episode is sponsor-backed, veterinary teams will want to separate general principles from product promotion and ground decisions in published guidance and validation studies. That’s especially important in a category where many devices are still off-label in pets, published evidence varies by species and device generation, and workflow success depends heavily on client compliance and clinic follow-through. (academy.royalcanin.com)
What to watch: The next phase will likely center on broader validation of newer sensors such as Libre 3 in veterinary patients, more formal practice guidance on interpreting CGM data, and whether veterinary-labeled CGM products can move from niche availability to routine use in primary care. (journals.sagepub.com)