Point-of-care blood glucose testing: reliability and safety. Report 3. Clinical safety and biohazards of the point-of-care glucose testing

• A.V. Timofeev

AbstractAll laboratory testing techniques, including the pointof-care glucose testing, pose risks to patients. Glucose testing with point-of-care devices presents wide opportunities for error. Errors introduced at any test stage (preanalytic, analytic, postanalytic) may cause serious harm due to wrong decision making by physician. Another potential source of harm is a high probability of transmission of blood-borne viruses among patients and personnel. The theoretical and practical problems of the clinical and biological safety of the point-of-care glucose testing are discussed.

Keywords:glucose testing, point-of-care testing, clinical accuracy, biological safety, biohazard, diabetes mellitus, glucose meter

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