A new test-strip for checking blood-sugar levels

Blood sugar levels in 228 EDTA-treated venous blood samples were measured in the laboratory by a new test-strip (Visidex) and the hexokinase reference method. There was good agreement between the two, with a linear correlation of r = 0.92 and a regression line with a slope of 0.98. 97.8% of all values deviated by less than one concentration range from the reference values. At low glucose concentrations the median of the absolute differences between the two methods was 9.5 mg/dl. Over the whole concentration range of 20-800 mg/dl the mean deviation from the reference values was between 14.4 and 32.6 mg/dl. The results indicate that the Visidex test-strip method is suitable for the visual estimation of blood sugar values.