Comparing the accuracy of POC vers. Lab. (Capillary,Venous and arte-rial) blood glucose level in severely shocked verse non-shocked critically Ill patients

Background: Glucose monitoring among critically-ill patients has been a topic of attention for long time to prevent both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, which is important in an intensive care unit. Use of point of care blood glucose meters within some critically ill patient populations has resulted in varying degrees of confusion about off-label use and potential discrepancies in results. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of point of care capillary and venous/arterial samples verse venous/arterial samples by laboratory testing in critically ill both shocked and non-shocked patients. Methodology: This is prospective case control study that was conducted among 268 critical ill patients among whom, capillary, Venous and arterial Blood Sample during routine care which is requested by treating physician will be done by the same bedside nurse. The study was conducted in King Fahd Miliary Medical Complex Dhahran Saudi Arabia. Results: In this study, we were able to collect data for 268 patients. The results showed no significant difference between POCT and lap results of both of venous and central blood (P=0.389 and 0.208) where POCT showed slightly higher results with venous glucose concentration of 10.18 and 10.05 (POCT and lab tests respectively) and 9.18 and 9.54 in POCT and lab tests respectively. Moreover, the mean difference between POC and lab analysis of venous, arterial and central glucose were 1.03, -1.8 and 0.7 mmol. Conclusion: We did not find a significant difference between results of POCT and regular laboratory analysis of glucose concentrations in critically ill patients except for arterial blood glucose. Using of POCT is slightly accurate with no difference between shocked and non-shocked patients compared to lab blood analysis.