A comparative study of glycaemic variability using four different Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) devices

Background: Blood glucose measurement is a way of monitoring changes in glycaemia. Different point-of-care testing (POCT) glucose meters are on the market and hence there is an increase in variability of the results given by these meters. This study sought to measure the glycaemic variability using four different point-of-care glucose meters Methods: Four point of care glucometers namely; Accu-chek performer nano, OneTouch select plus flex, OneTouch Ultra 2 and Easy Check were used test blood samples from a total of 100 patients visiting the collection point of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Laboratory. A chemistry analyzer (Mindray BS 240 fully automated) was used as the reference method. Results: The median (interquartile range), Bland Altman Plot and Regression Equation were used to assess the agreement between the various meters and the reference method. The OneTouch Select plus had the least bias (-0.85) and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the highest bias (1.49). The OneTouch select had the best limits of agreement (-2.51 – 0.82) and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the widest limits of agreement (-1.91 – 4.89) when compared to the reference method. Conclusion: OneTouch Select plus had the best agreement with the reference method and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the least agreement with the reference method. Blood glucose meters should be used for the monitoring of blood glucose however, it should not be used as a diagnostic tool.