Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine
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Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. · Jun 1998
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyInterinstitutional comparison of bedside blood glucose monitoring program characteristics, accuracy performance, and quality control documentation: a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study of bedside blood glucose monitoring performed in 226 small hospitals.
To assess the accuracy of bedside blood glucose monitoring (BGM) in small hospitals, to assess the compliance with which hospital workers performing bedside BGM adhere to quality control (QC) procedures, and to identify those practice characteristics in small hospitals that are associated with better BGM accuracy and with better performance of BGM QC. ⋯ We found the rates of BGM accuracy and of QC performance adequacy achieved in small hospitals to be similar to those determined in previous Q-Probes studies conducted in large institutions. A significant amount of institutional bedside testing does not meet current standards for accuracy or for quality control. Some institutions may improve their accuracy and/or QC performances by having laboratory personnel intimately involved in their institution's BGM QC program, by routinely comparing BGM results with those performed using glucose analyzers in the clinical laboratory, by routinely running three rather than two glucose QC control levels, by participating in external proficiency programs, and by strictly adhering to institutional QC protocols.