Comparison of fructosamine with glycated hemoglobin as an index of glycemic control in diabetic patients.

Fasting and postprandial (or post-glucose load) plasma glucose, total HbA1 and fructosamine (F) were simultaneously assessed in 371 diabetic patients (125 insulin dependent and 246 non-insulin dependent) and in 122 nondiabetic subjects, (98 with normal glucose tolerance and 24 with impaired glucose tolerance). Fructosamine yielded nearly similar information as HbA1 about glycemic control, since similar relationships were observed between plasma glucose values and HbA1 or fructosamine levels in the different groups. A longitudinal study performed during a three-month follow-up in 74 diabetic patients and extended to six months in 19 of them, without any modification of treatment, indicated that reproducibility of HbA1 and fructosamine was nearly the same with a slight advantage for HbA1. The only clinically significant difference results from the longer half-life of hemoglobin when compared to serum proteins. Fructosamine assay should be proposed as a complement of HbA1 in the management of diabetic patients when detection of recent metabolic changes is needed.