GLUCOSE METER - A BOON TO THE 21st CENTURY

Abstract

Glucose meters are widely used today both in the inpatient and outpatient settings, and by the patient himself at home to monitor therapy.  The glucose meters use whole blood.  For good performance both technical accuracy and clinical accuracy is very important.  Technical accuracy tells us about the closeness of agreement between a measured value and true value of a parameter whereas clinical accuracy compares the agreement between the test result and the medical decisions which is based on the tet result. Many factors can affect glucose meter results, including environmental exposure, operator technique, and patient factors.  This article reviews the history, technical accuracy, clinical accuracy, meter performance, interferences involved in glucose meter reading.