Blood glucose self-monitoring. An evaluation of five systems.

Self-monitoring of capillary blood glucose has proved to be of great value to diabetic patients. Primary care physicians should therefore become familiar with the various models of reflectance meters so that they can advise each patient on the most appropriate type, and on its use. Accordingly, the authors reviewed five of the major self-monitoring blood glucose systems: Glucometer II, Accu-Chek II, Diascan-S, Glucochek SC, and Trends-Meter. The protocol for evaluation included quality of hardware, ease of use, standardization, accuracy and precision, manufacture's support, and cost for each test. Major differences among the five systems concerned ease of calibration, size of blood sample required, half-strip capability, upper end linearity, strip timing programs, and strip storage after development. Nevertheless, all devices proved accurate and unquestionably useful in helping patients control their diabetes.