ABSTRACT
Introduction: Standard point of care capillary blood glucose testing (POCT) is commonly used in hospitalized patients to monitor their glucose levels. This technique is associated with increased staff/patient contact and patient discomfort. We examined the correlation of the capillary blood glucose results obtained by the POCT device (Accuchek Inform II) with the serum glucose values obtained by the hospital laboratory and with the glucose readings obtained by the FDA-waived for in-patient use (because of COVID-19 pandemic) Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS). Methods: For this prospective cohort study fifty-two adult participants who were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and admitted to non-critical units were recruited. Among them, 41 (79%) were male, 50 (96%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus. CGMS sensors were placed on patients' arms, POCT and serum glucose measurements were taken as ordered. Descriptive statistics were calculated and linear mixed models were used to determine correlation. Results: There were a total of 467 Accuchek-Libre pairs with a highly statistically significant association between pairs, p<0.0001. There were also 44 serum glucose -Libre pairs, with a highly statistically significant association, p<0.0001. On average, for each unit increase in Libre glucose level, there was a 0.92 unit increase in Accuchek glucose level as well as a 1.05 unit increase in serum glucose level. Conclusion: These findings indicate excellent correlation between the standard POCT and the CGMS as well as between serum glucose and the CGMS values. Because of the advantages of the CGMS glucose readings over blood capillary glucose testing (reduced patient discomfort and reduced staff exposure to patients during the pandemic) hospitals should consider replacing capillary blood glucose testing with CGMS.