[Evaluation of the measurement of capillary glucose concentration versus plasma glucose in the newborn]

BACKGROUND

The reliability of blood glucose monitoring in neonatology is not always confirmed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of blood glucose measurements made with three different devices in newborns.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study was prospective, conducted in a medical and neonatal intensive care department over a period of 4 months. Capillary glucose level was measured with three different glucometers and compared with venous glucose level determined using the hexokinase method. An ANOVA and Scheffe test were used for the correlation analysis.

RESULTS

Three hundred and nine infants were included, with a mean age of 55h and a mean term of 39 weeks of gestation. Mean blood glucose in the laboratory was 0.62±0.15g/L, 0.71±0.17g/L for Accu-Chek(®) Active, 0.80±0.17g/L for Accu-Chek(®) Performa, and 0.83±0.12g/L for Bionime. An ANOVA showed statistically significant differences between the measurements made by glucometers compared to the reference blood glucose levels, and the Scheffé method showed that glucometers overestimated the real plasma glucose levels.

CONCLUSION

None of the devices used in this study was satisfactory. However, an estimation of blood glucose taking into consideration this numerical overestimation would allow early detection of hypoglycemia.