Abstract
To detect & Rx hypoglycemia (serum 40 mg/dl) early, reagent strips (dtx) are used to screen newborns (NB) at risk. If the dtx is low in an asymptomatic infant, the glucose (glc) lab result is obtained before Rx. This is done because of high incidence of false hypoglc Dx by dtx. The aim of this study was to assess accuracy of dtx when effect of hct is eliminated. 14 Blood (bl) samples in 12 NB (BW ±1SD:2.2±1.2 kg) were examined. Part of the sample was used for dtx (read at 60”) & hct determination (dtern). After centrifugation the remaining serum (sm) sample was used for lab glc dtern (Hexokinase) & for repeated sm dtx read at 45”, 50”, 55” & 60”. Thus a total of 5 dtx readings (1 whole bl & 4 sm) with a calibrated glucometer were compared to lab result for each patient. Results: no one had hypoglc as determined by the lab (x̄±SD=98 ±31 mg/dl). Mean hct was 43±7%. Correlation coefficients (r) of regressions of dtx readings on lab glc dterns for each time period were statistically significant (p <.001). The r's for all time periods for sera were> for whole bl. When paired comparisons were made between “r's” of each time period for sm & whole bl, only the “r” of the 50” (.98) for sm was significantly different from whole bl (.91) (P <.025). DTX read with sm at 50” also showed smaller differences to lab glc dtern compared to whole bl (9±7 vs 25±14 mg%, P < 0.025). Only 1 of 14 dtx measurements each with sm at 50” & whole bl were falsely high compared to lab dterns. In the event of a low dtx reading during routine screening of high risk NB, repeating dtx with sm read at 50” may facilitate Dx & Rx of hypoglc long before lab results are available.
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Atakent, Y., Gupta, U., Beesley, E. et al. A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF SERUM DEXTROSTIX (DTX) IN NEWBORNS. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 321 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01371
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01371