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Glucose meters
POCT Test Name Whole blood glucose |
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 The Ames glucose meter-
the one that started it all!
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Instruments Medisense Optium. Siemens 800/Rapidlab series blood gas analysers i-STAT analysers |
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Location within CDHB
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Glucocard- most wards and clinics. About 150 meters throughout the CDHB.
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Optium: Maternity OPD, CWH- specifically for Gestational Diabetics. Meters are returned and recycled after birth of babies.
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i-STAT- Chch Hospital theatres; NICU, Christchurch Women's Hospital, Special Care Unit, Burwood Hospital.
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800/Rapidlab- Biochemistry CHLabs, Ashburton lab, NICU, CWH.
Tests measured
Whole blood glucose- arterial, venous, capillary. Note- test strip technology for handheld meters often utilises glucose oxidase and is affected by oxygen tension in blood. It is important to differentiate between capillary/arterial samples and venous. Many analysers contain a built-in algorithm.
Sample and volume requirements
Most glucose meters require a drop or two only of capillary blood. If you want to use a blood gas analyser to measure your glucose, then blood gas capillary samples require between 90 and 125µL (175µL if CO-Ox is required as well) of well mixed whole blood.
NOTE: if blood gases are required and not just glucose, the sample volume will remain the same. However, as far as is possible, the sample must be anaerobically collected to ensure the pCO2 and pO2 are accurate.
Consumables
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Glucocard meters: Arkray. Suppliers, NZMS. Contact the POCT Coordinator for details.
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Glucocard test strips: From Pharmacy. Arkray Cat No. 77502.
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Medisense Optium: Contact the POCT Coordinator for details.
Controls
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Glucocard meters have a ChekStrip©, an device modelled on a test strip, that checks the electronics of the meter.
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Quality Controls are available for all types of analysers and meters, including Optiums.
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All controls should be analysed regularly, at least once per day.
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Controls check the ability of the operator to deliver the sample correctly to the meter and the ability of the meter to determine the correct result.
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Controls do not check the quality of the patient capillary sample before it is introduced to the meter.
Reference Range
All reference ranges can be found in the CHLabs test database. Click on the left hand menu link to Canterbury Health Laboratories home page, then click on "Tests".
Sources of Error
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Wrong patient
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Incorrect meter calibration, eg, F3 calibrator, F5 strips.
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Incorrect or expired test strips
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Inferior capillary sample collection
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Contaminated finger- i.e., smeared with sugars of some type
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Transcription error
Competencies
Please click here to learn more about competencies in the CDHB.
Because of the complexity and cost of competencying many hundreds of nursing and technical staff, glucose competence testing will not become an efficient process until an investment in connectivity solutions is made.
