Validity of glucose measurements in the blood by a glucometer reagent strip in critically ill infants

IntroductionHypoglycemia in critically ill infants is a frequent metabolic disorder which is often due to defective glucose homeostasis. If not recognized annotated early, it can result in severe neurological damage with high mortality and morbidity. Today, glucometer is recommended for fast measuring blood glucose. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of glucometer for early diagnosis of hypoglycemia in the acutely ill infant.Materials and methodsThis study evaluates 130 critically ill infants less than 1year of age who were admitted to Besat hospital – Sanandaj – IRAN. Blood sugar was measured by standard serum method (glucose oxidase) and glucometer reagent strip.ResultsThe overall means of blood sugar were 115.6 ± 1.75 with serum method and 119.1 ± 1.56 with glucometer method. The rates of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value with glucometer method and with serum glucose method were 72%, 53%, 62%, and 77% respectively. The correlation between the two methods was significant (p < 0.001). Kappa statistics for the two methods was 42%.ConclusionsThe results showed that in general, glucometer may be appropriate for rapid screening in emergency situations and when frequent blood glucose monitoring is needed but it cannot be regarded as a very suitable and reliable tool for diagnosis of hypoglycemia in critically ill infants.