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Alternate-Site Testing Still 'Feasible and Reliable'
But Finger Testing During Lows Is Recommended
For the purpose of detecting low blood glucose, researchers say you should test at the fingertip.
However, alternative-site testing on the arm with blood glucose meters requiring only a very small drop of blood is “feasible and reliable under routine clinical conditions,” conclude researchers in Italy at the Padova Diabetes Centre.
Type 1s and 2s in five outpatient diabetes clinics were observed in a study comparing glucose measurements between the fingertip and forearm using the OneTouch Ultra by LifeScan, which requires only 1 microliter of blood.
Participants were requested to use the OneTouch Ultra at home for one week for the measurement of BG levels from both sites. Patients completed a questionnaire about their experiences testing blood samples from the fingertip and forearm.
Seventy-one of the 112 patients say that the collection of blood from the forearm caused no pain or less pain than at the traditional site.
“Only 17 percent of the patients declared that it was impossible to obtain any blood from the forearm, while 63 percent reported with satisfaction that the quantity [of the blood sample] requested was small,” the researchers wrote.
Thirty-two percent of the participants said the forearm was their preferred test site.
-Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics, 2003;5(6):983-989.
Categories: Blood Glucose, Diabetes, Diabetes, Meters
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Mar 1, 2004
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Diabetes Health
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
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Topics
- Diabetic / Diabetes Health
- Type 1 / 1.5 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Blood Glucose / Sugar
- High/Low Blood Sugar / Fast Acting Glucose
- Insulin- Pumps, Pens & Syringes
- Continuous Glucose Monitors, CGM, Infusion Sets
- Type 2 Medications
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
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