Testing for diabetes mellitus — blood glucose and HbA1c

 

Attention

Do not do finger prick tests on children under 6 months — use heel instead

  • Make sure you know how your machines work, how to prepare sample and read result. Read manufacturer’s instructions
  • Finger/heel must be very clean and dry
  • Let blood drop form on its own, or apply gentle pressure if needed. Squeezing will give incorrect results

Testing BGL with glucose meter

Attention

  • Work through these steps when teaching person to self-monitor BGL with a glucose meter

What you need

  • Warm water and soap to wash finger/heel
  • Test strip
  • Glucose meter — calibrated if needed
  • Lancet and lancet devices OR single use lancet
  • Gauze swab or cotton wool ball
  • Small sticking plaster

Figure 5.17  

What you do

  • Wash finger/heel with soap and warm water, rinse, dry well. Must be completely dry
  • Hold finger/heel pointing downward, prick with lancet — Figure 5.17
    • Pressing firmly against skin beforehand may help get better puncture and blood flow
  • Let a drop of blood form
  • Put test strip in glucose meter and wait for machine to register it is ready for blood
  • Being careful not to touch skin — touch test strip to drop of blood and let strip fill completely
  • Put firm pressure on puncture site to stop bleeding, put on sticking plaster
  • If screen shows an error OR very high or low reading — do test again

Testing HbA1c with point of care (POC Test) test (where available)

Attention

  • Only staff who have been trained should do POC testing

What you need

  • Warm water and soap to wash finger
  • POC testing machine
  • HbA1c testing cartridges
  • HbA1c sample holder
  • Single use lancet OR lancet and lancet device
  • Tissue
  • Cotton wool

What you do

  • Have person wash hands with soap and water, dry thoroughly
  • Puncture finger — Figure 5.17. Let drop of blood form
  • Touch tip of sample holder to drop of blood until capillary tube is completely full
  • Wipe away any extra blood on outside of tube with edge of a folded tissue
  • On flat surface, push sample holder into testing cartridge until it clicks into place — curved edge must face outward
  • When machine shows 'ready' — calibrate cartridge. Run bar code down channel
  • Open door of machine, put testing cartridge into slot — bar code must face right. Press down on cartridge with 2 fingers until it clicks into place
  • Result will display on screen in about 6 minutes (depending on model of machine)