Use of a portable glucose meter in a Nigerian diabetic clinic.

We assessed the performance of a portable glucose meter in a tropical environment. This was undertaken in an effort to reduce the costs of regular blood glucose measurements for our diabetic patients, many of whom were finding regular laboratory tests financially burdensome. The glucose meter was as accurate as the laboratory up to glucose concentrations of 250 mg/dl (14 mmol/l) but slightly overestimated results above that level. Nevertheless, it gave results comparable to those obtained with similar instruments in temperate countries, with a correlation coefficient of 0.91. Its cheapness, alternative power source from dry battery, use of finger prick capillary rather than venous blood, ease of operation, and quick production of results make it almost ideal for use in developing countries.