72
While staying at the lab:
Make sure that the samples for both tests are taken and tested within
15 minutes of each other.
• Wash your hands before obtaining a blood sample.
• Never use your monitor with blood that has been collected in a
gray-top test tube.
• Use fresh capillary blood only.
You may still have a variation from the result because blood glucose
levels can change significantly over short periods of time, especi
ally if
you have recently eaten, exercised, taken medication, or experienced
stress
*3
. In addition, if you have eaten recently, the blood glucose level
from a finger prick can be up to 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) higher than
blood drawn from a vein (venous sample) used for a lab test
*4
. There-
fore, it is best to fast for eight hours before doing comparison tests.
Factors such as the amount of red blood c
ells in the blood (a high or
low hematocrit) or the loss of body fluid (dehydration) may also cause
a monitor result to be different from a laboratory result.
References:
*3: Surwit, R.S., and Feinglos, M.N.: Diabetes Forecast (1988), April, 49-51.
*4: Sacks, D.B.:
“
Carbohydrates.
“
Burtis, C.A., and Ashwood, E.R.( ed.), Tietz
Textbook of Clinical Chemistry. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company (1994),
959.
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