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Anemia causes hypoglycemia in intensive care unit patients due to error in single-channel glucometers: methods of reducing patient risk.

ABSTRACT: Intensive insulin therapy in the critically ill reduces mortality but carries the risk of increased hypoglycemia. Point-of-care blood glucose analysis is standard; however, anemia causes falsely high values and potentially masks hypoglycemia. Permissive anemia is practiced routinely in most intensive care units. We hypothesized that point-of-care glucometer error due to anemia is prevalent, can be corrected mathematically, and correction uncovers occult hypoglycemia during intensive insulin therapy.The study has both retrospective and prospective phases. We reviewed data to verify the presence of systematic error, determine the source of error, and establish the prevalence of anemia. We confirmed our findings by reproducing the error in an in vitro model. Prospective data were used to develop a correction formula validated by the Monte Carlo method. Correction was implemented in a burn intensive care unit and results were evaluated after 9 mos.Burn and trauma intensive care units at a single research institution.Samples for in vitro studies were taken from healthy volunteers. Samples for formula development were from critically ill patients who received intensive insulin therapy.Insulin doses were calculated based on predicted serum glucose values from corrected point-of-care glucometer measurements.Time-matched point-of-care glucose, laboratory glucose, and hematocrit values. We previously found that anemia (hematocrit <34%) produces systematic error in glucometer measurements. The error was correctible with a mathematical formula developed and validated, using prospectively collected data. Error of uncorrected point-of-care glucose ranged from 19% to 29% (p < .001), improving to < or = 5% after mathematical correction of prospective data. Comparison of data pairs before and after correction formula implementation demonstrated a 78% decrease in the prevalence of hypoglycemia in critically ill and anemic patients treated with insulin and tight glucose control (p < .001).A mathematical formula that corrects erroneous point-of-care glucose values due to anemia in intensive care unit patients reduces the prevalence of hypoglycemia during intensive insulin therapy.

SUBMITTER: Pidcoke HF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4267684 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Anemia causes hypoglycemia in intensive care unit patients due to error in single-channel glucometers: methods of reducing patient risk.

Pidcoke Heather F HF Wade Charles E CE Mann Elizabeth A EA Salinas Jose J Cohee Brian M BM Holcomb John B JB Wolf Steven E SE

Critical care medicine 20100201 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Intensive insulin therapy in the critically ill reduces mortality but carries the risk of increased hypoglycemia. Point-of-care blood glucose analysis is standard; however, anemia causes falsely high values and potentially masks hypoglycemia. Permissive anemia is practiced routinely in most intensive care units. We hypothesized that point-of-care glucometer error due to anemia is prevalent, can be corrected mathematically, and correction uncovers occult hypoglycemia during inte ...[more]

PMID: 19789438

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Project description:BackgroundPoint of care (POC) glucose meters are routinely used as a screening tool for hypoglycemia in a neonatal setting. Glucose meters however, lack the same accuracy as laboratory instruments for glucose measurement. In this study we investigated potential reasons for this inaccuracy and established a cut off value for confirmatory testing.MethodsIn this prospective study, all patients in the neonatal intensive care unit who had a plasma glucose test ordered were eligible to participate. Demographic information, sample collection information (nine variables) and a recent hematocrit value were recorded for each sample. Glucose measurements were taken at the bedside on the glucose meter (RN PCx) as well as in the laboratory on both the glucose meter (LAB PCx) and the laboratory analyzer (PG). Data were analyzed by simple and mixed-effects regression analysis and by analysis of a receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve.ResultsThere were 475 samples analyzed from 132 patients. RN PCx values were higher than PG values (mean = 4.9%), while LAB PCx results were lower (mean = -5.2%) than PG values. Only 31% of the difference between RN PCx--PG and 46% of the difference for LAB PCx--PG could be accounted for by the variables tested. The largest proportion of variance between PCx and PG measurements was explained by hematocrit (about 30%) with a greater effect seen at glucose concentrations < or =4.0 mmol/L (< or =72 mg/dL)(48% and 40% for RN PCx and LAB PCx, respectively). The ROC analysis showed that for detection of all cases of hypoglycemia (PG < 2.6 mmol/L)(PG < 47 mg/dL) the PCx screening cut off value would need to be set at 3.8 mmol/L (68 mg/dL) requiring 20% of all samples to have confirmatory analysis by the laboratory method.ConclusionThe large difference between glucose results obtained by PCx glucose meter compared to the laboratory analyzer can be explained in part by hematocrit and low glucose concentration. These results emphasize that the glucose meter is useful only as a screening device for neonatal hypoglycemia and that a screening cut off value must be established.

Dataset Information

Anemia causes hypoglycemia in intensive care unit patients due to error in single-channel glucometers: methods of reducing patient risk.

Publications

Anemia causes hypoglycemia in intensive care unit patients due to error in single-channel glucometers: methods of reducing patient risk.

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