Abstract:
BACKGROUND : A patient-centred approach with self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has emerged as the preferred approach
in monitoring and managing blood glucose. The success of SMBG in diabetes treatment and management relies heavily on the
accurate and reproducible measurement of blood glucose values.
AIM : To evaluate whether patients and healthcare professionals can accurately estimate blood glucose using photometric strips,
by visually matching them to colorimetric charts.
METHODS : A cross-sectional study design was used with participants enrolled from patients and healthcare providers attending
and working at the Diabetes Clinic of Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital (KPTH). A convenience sample of 144 patients and 10
healthcare professionals was enrolled.
RESULTS : Limits of agreement of patient and healthcare professional visual estimates were 11.1 to 10.4 mmol/l and 6.7 to 5.7
mmol/l, respectively. The mean difference for estimates by healthcare professionals was 0.8 mmol/l (95% CI 1.30–0.31 mmol/
l) while patient estimates had a mean difference of 0.4 mmol/l (95% CI 1.2−0.5 mmol/l).
CONCLUSIONS : The study noted that visual colour matching was inexact and generally would overestimate blood glucose.
Healthcare professionals gave visual estimates that were more accurate in comparison with patients.
