The ‘Dextrostix’-reflectance meter system for blood glucose analysis has been evaluated using a blood glucose reference method. A high degree of concordance between the two methods was obtained when analyses were performed by skilled laboratory staff on venous blood samples containing fluoride, with a 75 s contact time. Skilled laboratory staff performed significantly better than unskilled staff. Capillary blood glucose concentrations correlated poorly with concentrations in venous blood samples taken at the same time as the capillary blood.
Neonatal blood glucose concentrations in caesarean and vaginally delivered term infants