Peter Nightingale
United Kingdom
Research Article
The Benefits and Limitations of Point of Care Testing for Patients with Diabetes Who are Acutely Unwell
Author(s): Tyrone Oliver Lightbody, Peter Nightingale, Vinay Reddy-Kolanu and Elizabeth SapeyTyrone Oliver Lightbody, Peter Nightingale, Vinay Reddy-Kolanu and Elizabeth Sapey
Diabetic emergencies are associated with derangements in glucose and electrolytes with guidelines supporting treatment and serial monitoring. In clinical practice this is often achieved using a venous blood sample assessed using a blood gas analyzer (BGA), however their accuracy in measuring glucose, potassium and sodium in acutely unwell adults is unknown. Capillary blood tests can measure these parameters using a BGA and may be more acceptable to patients. We compared capillary and venous BGA results to gold standard venous laboratory sodium, potassium and glucose in acutely unwell diabetic patients and healthy controls to determine their accuracy and acceptability.
Methods: 48 acutely unwell diabetic patients and 23 healthy adults had consecutive bloods taken from arterialized ear lobe (EP) and finger prick (FP) (capillary bloods) and a standard venous sa.. View More»
