BM strips: how accurate are they in general wards?

In order to test the accuracy of BM Test Glycemie 20-800 strips when used in general wards, simultaneous BM strip results were obtained for 183 emergency out-of-hours plasma glucose requests. The results were considered accurate if the value obtained by the Emergency Biochemistry Laboratory (using a Beckman II glucose analyser) was within one strip-range on either side of the stated BM strip value. Fifty-nine (32.2%) of the BM strip results were considered inaccurate by this definition, and in 22 of these inaccurate results the differences were large enough to have led to inappropriate management if this was based on the BM strip result alone. The reasons for these inaccuracies are not clear, but it is suggested that improved training of ward staff and formal quality control schemes may help to improve results.