Blood glucose measurements in the critically ill: more than just a blood draw
1 Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Friedrich-Schiller University, Erlanger Allee, 07747 Jena, Germany
2 Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Klinikum Lüdenscheid, Paulmannshöher Str., 58515 Lüdenscheid, Germany
Critical Care 2006, 10:178 doi:10.1186/cc5110
See related research by Ligtenberg et al., http://ccforum.com/content/10/5/R135
Published: 7 December 2006Abstract
A crucial determinant for the success of intensive insulin therapy in critically ill patients is the frequent and accurate measurement of blood glucose values with immediate feedback of results. In general, therefore, this is achieved by point-of-care testing, raising the question of the best way of monitoring blood glucose. Corstjens and coworkers, in the previous issue of Critical Care, demonstrate that, in spite of good correlation to "conventional" laboratory glucose assessment, absolute glucose levels may differ systematically. This commentary reviews the problems of glucose measurements arising from matrix effects, interferences and the use of different assays.
