Practices for glucose measurement with a glucometer in a population of diabetic patients. An observational study.

The ability to use a glucometer for self-monitoring of blood glucose is an important component of optimal blood glucose control in diabetic patients. However, the importance of this skill is still not well understood by numerous patients and in medical facilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate glucose measurement practices in people with diabetes. A Cross-sectional, descriptive study. This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in a group of 212 patients who attended follow-up visits in diabetes clinics located in two hospitals with the same level of referral. The criteria for inclusion in the study were: age ≥ 20 years, diabetes diagnosed at least 1 year before the study, glucose monitoring using only a glucometer. The ability to measure glucose with a glucometer was assessed using a 16-item observation questionnaire. The relationship between two variables was calculated using the R Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess differences of one feature between two groups. The non-parametric Chi-squared test was also used in the analyses. A multiple linear regression model was constructed to examine the associations between of multiple independent variables and single dependent variable. The data showed that 49.1% of the patients were rather able to measure glucose with a glucometer. Over half of them (53.8%) had never participated in training to learn how to measure glucose levels. As regards patients included in the study, we identified 3 errors related to measurement technique in 19.3% of them, while 9 errors defining correct measurement skills were identified in 5.7% of the patients. The most common errors included failure to replace the lancet in the fingertip lancing device (81.6%) and not washing hands with warm soapy water prior to the measurement (65.1%). The number of errors reported during the measurement was significantly related to the age of the patients, education level, professional status, place of residence, self-assessment of the financial situation, type of diabetes and participation in education. Educating patients in the skill of the self-monitoring of blood glucose with a glucometer should constitute an integral part of the care of a diabetic patient in a diabetes clinic. Only one in ten patients with diabetes fully adhered to the principles of correct glucose measurement with a glucometer. When educating patients on how to take measurements, special attention should be paid to replacing lancets in the lancing device and washing hands with soap and water before collecting a blood sample. When assessing the ability to measure glucose levels using a glucometer in this group of patients, the following factors should be considered: glycated hemoglobin concentration, patient participation in education on how to take measurements, self-assessment of the financial situation and the duration of diabetes.