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Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted including a representative sample of diabetic Patients attending Al-Eskan Primary Health Care Center in Makkah Al-Mukarramah city. Every third patient who attended for follow-up in the center was recruited in the research until the target number was achieved. Two sets of questionnaires were developed in English language and validated in a Malaysian study, and consequently used in the present study. One set of questionnaire was for diabetic patients who performed self-monitoring consisted of five parts; personal data, information about the patient's diabetes and treatment, the patient's perception regarding diabetes and his health, the patient's belief and attitudes toward SMBG, and the patient's current SMBG practices. Another set of questionnaire was for those who did not perform self-monitoring. It was similar except in part 4 where different statements were used to assess the patient's perception and attitude toward SMBG. Results: The study included 120 patients with T2DM. The prevalence of SMBG among them was 70.8%. Among those who are practicing SMBG, 28.2% practiced it on daily basis whereas 10.6% practiced it more than once daily. Almost one third of them (35.3%) recorded their blood glucose monitoring results. Only 22.4% showed their results to their physicians and 25.9% adjusted their diabetes treatment based on blood glucose results. Sixty-nine respondents (57.5%) needed further help and information regarding diabetes with no significant association with SMBG practice. It was found that younger (≤50 years), male, married, and higher educated diabetic patients were more likely to practice SMBG, regardless of its frequency. All information related to diabetes (duration, therapy, complications, hospitalization, recent HbA1C, and attending educational sessions) was not significantly associated with SMBG practice. Conclusion: SMBG is widely used among patients with T2DM in Al-Eskan Primary Health Care Center in Makkah Al-Mukarramah city. However, its frequency and timing is suboptimal. As younger (≤50 years), male, married, and higher educated diabetic patients were more likely to practice SMBG.

The study aims to assess current practices of patients with diabetes to control blood glucose levels during Ramadan. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional approach has been used for collecting data through a structured and interview-based questionnaire to assess the association between self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and hypoglycemia. The questionnaire has recorded information about demographics, duration of diabetes, and treatment of diabetes, and hypoglycemia complications faced during Ramadan. The primary outcomes of this study include frequency of SMBG during fasting in Ramadan and association of SMBG and hypoglycemia and break of fasting. However, the secondary outcomes include medications, glycemic control, and other influencing factors. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: The findings have shown that the majority of the patients used a combination of metformin+sulphonylurea (23.02%) following metformin+insulin (20.86%), insulin (12.94%), and metformin (8.63%). Whereas diet control, high or low blood sugar, insulin dose adjustment in fasting conditions were the most influential factors during Ramadan when the blood sugar levels were tested. Majority of the patients monitored their blood glucose level during pre-iftar (56.8%) following to hypoglycemia (30.2%), post-iftar (29.4%), and rarely monitored in afternoon (3.5%) despite that only 10.1% monitored their blood glucose on a daily basis. Patients who had symptoms of hypoglycemia and had to break their fasting at least once were 41% and 27.2%, respectively. There is a significant association between age and gender with symptoms of low blood sugar level. Additionally, a significant association between blood sugar monitoring and high blood sugar level has been shown (p=0.041), indicating that lack in daily blood sugar monitoring can increase the blood sugar level of a patient during Ramadan. Conclusion: The present study has helped in providing better understanding about the selfmonitoring of blood glucose level and hypoglycemia. Furthermore, it also emphasizes the pre-Ramadan education about when to break their fasting along with frequency and timing of SMBG.