An assessment of the effect of haematocrit on the HemoCue blood glucose analyser.

The HemoCue blood glucose analyser was investigated with particular respect to its susceptibility to influence by the haematocrit of the blood specimen. The red cells and plasma of fresh blood samples were separated and then recombined in proportions to give a range of haematocrit values and the resulting specimens assayed for glucose. The HemoCue exhibited no appreciable influence of haematocrit. The instrument was easy to use, stable and had good precision (CV 1.8%). However, results tended to be a little higher than those produced by a conventional laboratory analyser on whole blood and it is understood that the factory calibration of newer HemoCue instruments has been modified to correct for this.