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Point‐of‐care testing of capillary glucose in the exclusion and diagnosis of diabetes in remote Australia
Author(s) -
Marley Julia V,
Davis Stephanie,
Coleman Kerryn,
Hayhow Bradleigh D,
Brennan Greg,
Mein Jacki K,
Nelson Carmel,
Atkinson David,
Maguire Graeme P
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01022.x
Subject(s) - concordance , medicine , diabetes mellitus , venous blood , point of care , point of care testing , predictive value , predictive value of tests , endocrinology , pathology
Objectives: To determine the utility of point‐of‐care (POC) capillary blood glucose measurements in the diagnosis and exclusion of diabetes in usual practice in primary health care in remote areas. Design: Cross‐sectional study comparing POC capillary glucose results with corresponding venous glucose levels measured in a reference laboratory. Participants: 200 participants aged 16–65 years enrolled: 198 had POC capillary glucose measurements; 164 also had acceptable venous glucose laboratory results. Setting: Seven health care sites in the Kimberley region of Western Australia from May to November 2006. Main outcome measures: Concordance and mean differences between POC capillary blood glucose measurement and laboratory measurement of venous blood glucose level; POC capillary blood glucose equivalence values for excluding and diagnosing diabetes, and their sensitivity, specificity and positive‐predictive value. Results: The concordance between POC and laboratory results was high (ρ = 0.93, P < 0.001). The mean difference in results was 0.48 mmol/L (95% CI, 0.23–0.73; limits of agreement, − 2.6 to 3.6 mmol/L). The POC capillary glucose equivalence values for excluding and diagnosing diabetes were < 5.5 mmol/L (sensitivity, 53.3%; specificity, 94.4%; positive‐predictive value, 88.9%; for a venous value of < 5.5 mmol/L) and ≥ 12.2 mmol/L (sensitivity, 83.3%; specificity, 99.3%; positive‐predictive value, 95.2%; for a venous value of ≥ 11.1 mmol/L), respectively. While the choice of glucometer and whether or not patients were fasting altered these results, they did not have a significant influence on the diagnostic utility of POC glucose measurement in this setting. Conclusion: POC capillary blood glucose analysers can be used as part of the process of diagnosing and excluding diabetes in remote rural communities using these locally established capillary equivalence values.