Do not use iodine for disinfection when measuring blood sugar

For diabetics, a home blood glucose meter is a "good partner" in blood sugar control. However, doctors often discover errors caused by improper operation of home blood glucose meters in outpatient clinics. Experts point out that in order to make the results measured by home blood glucose meters as close as possible to the actual level, everything from the disinfectant used to the location and method of blood collection must be particular.

 

Patient: Doctor, I started taking hypoglycemic drugs two months ago, and my blood sugar is measured every morning and after meals. The results measured at home have always been good, and the postprandial blood sugar level is maintained at about 8 to 9 (mmol/L). But I discovered a problem: it seems that every time the blood sugar level measured in the hospital is higher than that measured at home, about 12 to 13 (mmol/L), how could this be? Doctor (checking test records): Have you always taken your medicines on time? Is there anything special about your diet these two days?

 

Patient: Yes. Eating was the same as usual, nothing special. And not only did my blood sugar level measured in the hospital today be high, basically every time the blood sugar level measured in the hospital was higher than that measured at home.

 

Doctor: In this case, there may be something wrong with the blood glucose meter at home or the operating method. Are the blood glucose meters you use at home subject to quality control?

 

Patient: My wife has been using it for several years. She has always done quality control according to the instructions. I have also checked the test strips and they are not expired.

 

Doctor: Can you describe the steps for measuring blood sugar every day? After further understanding, the patient used an older blood glucose meter, which was disinfected with iodine before each blood glucose measurement. Many times, patients have to squeeze out the blood drops with their hands because the blood volume is not enough. Through the patient's self-report, the doctor initially determined that improper operation was the cause of the patient's self-test blood glucose error.

 

Experts remind: The blood glucose meter results will be lower than the actual. According to the deputy director of the endocrinology department of the Red Cross Hospital, compared with the blood glucose test in the hospital, the location of the sample collection and the testing principle are different between the home blood glucose meter and the blood glucose test in the hospital. "Diabetes lovers must first understand that for the same blood sample, the value measured by a home blood glucose meter will be lower than the value measured in the hospital. This is due to the characteristics of the home blood glucose meter. Generally, a lower value of 10% to 15% is acceptable. .”

 

In addition, the sensitivity of a home blood glucose meter that has been used for a long time will change, so quality control must be done regularly. If it is found that the value measured by the blood glucose meter deviates by more than 10% from the value of the quality control solution or quality control test paper, it needs to be replaced. Factory recalibration. Forcibly squeezing blood drops will affect test results. Experts said that in outpatient clinics, they encounter many diabetic patients who make errors in measuring blood sugar at home. The most common cause of errors is the use of expired test strips. Improper operation during blood collection is another important cause of errors.

 

Taking the patient as an example, she made at least two mistakes in the operation. First, use iodine as a disinfectant. Experts explained: "If the iodine is not deiodized well, it will react chemically with the glucose in the blood, thus affecting the results." He suggested that people with diabetes should self-test their blood sugar at home and use alcohol for disinfection, which is more reliable and should be left alone for a while. Let the blood collection site dry before collecting blood.

 

Secondly, the old blood glucose meter used by the patient requires more blood. To this end, she squeezed her fingertips vigorously to obtain blood drops, but she did not know that doing so would also affect the test results:

 

First, when you squeeze your fingers vigorously, it may cause the red blood cells in the blood to rupture, and the glucose contained in the red blood cells will flow out, making the measured results higher;

 

Second, squeezing your fingers vigorously may cause tissue fluid near the needle port to leak out and mix with the blood, causing the measured results to be lower. Experts suggest that diabetic patients should not squeeze their fingertips hard to obtain blood drops during and after blood collection. If it is difficult to automatically form a full round blood drop each time blood collection is taken, diabetic patients can droop their hands for 15 seconds before blood collection. Seconds, the blood will be concentrated at the fingertips under the action of gravity, and blood collection will be smoother.