A study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP), has found the AccuTell Portable Blood Glucose Monitor (PBGM) to be more accurate and useful in a clinical setting than the AlphaTrak2.

For the study “Comparative accuracy of two veterinary-calibrated point-of-care glucometres for measurement of blood glucose concentration in dogs” blood was sampled from client and staff-owned dogs above 6 months of age, of various breeds and health status.

The samples were then used to compare the accuracy of both PGBMs against a reference method - the hexokinase reaction method.

The authors say this was the first study to investigate AccuTell and the first published evidence comparing AlphaTrak2 with a reference method.

The study also sought to determine how useful the monitors are in clinical decision making and to assess the effect that packed cell volume (PCV) (known to affect the reliability of blood glucose concentration measurement in dogs) has on blood glucose concentration using the two PBGMs.

AccuTell was found to be more accurate and useful in a clinical setting than AlphaTrak2.

Both PBGMs were inaccurate in comparison with the hexokinase reaction method, and although they have potential for standard clinical use, unexpected blood glucose concentrations need to be checked by the hexokinase reaction method.

In addition, measurement of blood glucose concentration by the AlphaTrak2 was affected by PCV whereas measurement by the AccuTell was not.

Nicola Di Girolamo, Editor of JSAP said: “We oftentimes think that an instrument that is developed specifically for our patients will provide satisfactorily results on most occasions.

"Instead, studies such as the one presented here, are critical to understand whether the ‘numbers’ provided by an instrument are reliable for clinical use.

"The authors provided 95% limits of agreements to their results.

"This value is of great help for clinicians, since it shows the difference expected between the instrument and the reference standard in the majority of occasions.” 

The study can be read online here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jsap.13491 

Reference

1. Wolfenden, G, James, FE, Hung, LHT, Bruce, M, and Thompson, M (2022) Comparative accuracy of two veterinary-calibrated point-of-care glucometres for measurement of blood glucose concentration in dogs Journal of Small Animal Practice, Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jsap.13491

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