title: Potential pitfalls in the use of Glucoscan and Glucoscan II meters for self-monitoring of blood glucose.
abstract: We discovered that skilled nurses only casually trained in the use of a fingertip blood glucose reflectance meter (Glucoscan, Lifescan, Mountainview, California) had a 36% incidence of unacceptable results (greater than 15% from reference). A controlled study was undertaken and showed that with Glucoscan I (GI) 4 of 27 readings were unacceptable and with Glucoscan II (GII) 3 of 27 readings were unacceptable, a statistically nonsignificant difference. Minor deviations from the manufacturer's recommended technique had a significant effect on the results with GI. In contrast, GII was much less sensitive to variations in recommended technique. GI underestimated the reference glucose concentration by 11.7%, and GII overestimated by 6.5%, a statistically significant difference. We conclude that the health professional must be aware of interdevice and intradevice variability in self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). Patients need careful training in the method of SMBG. The results of any single value should be interpreted with caution.
mesh_terms: D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007332:Insulin Infusion Systems; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012648:Self Care / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose