A multicenter study comparing a point-of-care blood glucose meter with a blood gas analyzer in infants by the Shikoku Neonatal Medical Research Group.

Abstract

Background: There have been no reports on blood glucose meters for measurements in a wide variety of infant patients, from very preterm infants to mature infants and from the early neonatal period onwards. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of the Glutest Mint II, a point-of-care blood glucose meter, by comparing blood glucose levels measured by this device with those measured by a blood gas analyzer in infants of all gestational ages and birth weights at a number of time points after birth.

Methods: Infants aged 22 weeks and 0 days of gestation or older who were born at any of six tertiary neonatal intensive care units between March 2022 and January 2023 and needed blood glucose monitoring were enrolled. Samples were collected into capillary tubes when the physician determined that a blood glucose test was necessary and could be taken at any time after birth and any number of times from the same individual. Blood glucose was measured using a Glutest Mint II and then using a blood gas analyzer.

Results: In total, 2,943 blood glucose points were measured in 285 infants. Blood glucose levels measured using the Glutest Mint II were significantly correlated with those measured using a blood gas analyzer. Neonatal-specific parameters such as hematocrit and total serum bilirubin levels may not have an effect.

Conclusions: The Glutest Mint II device can measure blood glucose levels with very high accuracy in the range used in the neonatal setting, comparable to the blood gas analyzer.