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2.
It is best to fast for at least eight (8) hours
before doing a comparison test.
3.
Take your meter to the lab.
While at the lab
1.
Perform the meter and lab tests within
15 minutes of each other.
2.
Wash your hands before obtaining a blood
sample.
3.
Do not perform meter test with blood that
is collected in a grey-top tube.
4.
Use fresh capillary blood only.
You may still have a variation from the result
because blood glucose levels can change
significantly over short periods of time,
especially if you have recently eaten, exercised,
taken medication, or experienced stress
1
. In
addition, if you have eaten recently, the blood
glucose level from a finger stick can be up to
3.9 mmol/L higher than blood drawn from a
vein (venous sample) used for a lab test
2
.
Therefore, it is best to fast for eight hours
before doing comparison tests. Factors such as
the amount of red blood cells in the blood (a
high or low hematocrit) or the loss of body fluid
(e.g. due to severe dehydration) may also cause
a meter result to be different from a lab result.
07.
Comparing with laboratory results
