Abstract
Point-of-care testing (POCT) is gaining renewed interest, especially in resource-limiting primary health care, due to rise in prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases hence POCT needscontinuous appraisal. Random glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were measured in 104 diabetic patients using standard laboratory multichannel analyzer 917. The utility of venous blood compared to capillary blood in measuring HbA1c was evaluated in a subset of 20 patients using a POCT device, DCA Vantage. Lastly, the POCT was validated against the laboratory multichannel analyser 917, in measurement of HbA1c in a second subset of 46 patients. Random blood glucose levels and HbA1c levels moderately correlated (r2 = 0.56; p < 0.0001). Random glucose tests showed that 41% of the patients had poor glycaemic control while HbA1c showed 74%. Venous and capillary blood in HbA1c showed strong correlation (r2 = 0.89440; p < 0.001. There was also strong correlation (r = 0.9802; p < 0.0001) in HbA1c measured using the DCA Vantage and the standard laboratory analyser, Multichannel Analyser 917. Venous or capillary blood can be used in POCT for HbA1c. POCT is ideal for monitoring glucose control and management of diabetes in resource-limited countries such as South Africa.
Highlights
Point of care testing (POCT) refers to testing performed outside the central laboratory using a device (s) that can be transported to the vicinity of the patient.[1]
Bernstein et al.[16] reported that the sickle cell gene is rare in the South African Black population;[15] our method of choice was not going to be significantly affected by the haemoglobin variants in our study
It is critical for introduction of reliable POCT devices in these clinics for the screening and monitoring of diabetes
Summary
Point of care testing (POCT) refers to testing performed outside the central laboratory using a device (s) that can be transported to the vicinity of the patient.[1]. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is becoming a major public health concern worldwide especially in developing countries.[4] T2DM constitutes about 90-95% of all African Health Sciences Vol 15 Issue 3, September 2015 diabetes cases and it is estimated that about 194 million adults have diabetes worldwide.[5] In Sub-Saharan Africa, diabetes incidence is increasing at an alarming rate, mainly due to rural-to-urban drift, globalization and major changes in lifestyles and nutrition.[6] In South Africa, the prevalence of the disease is about 5.5% in adults over the age of 30 and is rising especially in Black African populations. The prevalence is as high as 17.1% in the South African Indian population and 10.8% in mixed ancestry population.[7,8] Given the gravity of the diabetes situation in South Africa, introduction of POCT through public health screening programmes is gaining momentum
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
