Abstract:
Diabetes is the most prevalent chronic metabolic disorder in Pakistan which is
characterized by an increased Blood Glucose level. An accurate diagnosis of diabetes is
very essential for its early detection and treatment. Almost 90\% of the cases are of Type
II Diabetes and the patients are required to continuously monitor their Blood Glucose
level to maintain a near-normal range of Blood sugar. A practical way to monitor sugar
levels is using a portable Glucometer at home which is faster and more convenient for
diabetes patients. The purpose of this study is to compare Blood Glucose levels measured
using Oxidase Method and a Portable Glucometer with reference Hexokinase Method in
Type II Diabetes patients to determine if Glucometers can be used as a home-based selfmonitoring device. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 150 Type II
Diabetes patients. Blood samples were collected from the capillary of fingers for a
portable Glucometer and from veins for Hexokinase and Oxidase Plasma methods after
overnight fasting of 8 hours. Independent t-test and Pearson Correlation were used to
check the significance of our results. There was no statistically significant difference in
Blood Glucose readings obtained from Oxidase Method (128.31 + 61.4, p = 0.947) and
Glucometer (122.53 + 59.6, p = 0.370) with Reference Hexokinase Method (128.78 +
61.2). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed in both methods with
reference Hexokinase Method. Glucometer readings positively correlate with
Hexokinase, showing that Glucometer can be used as a home-based self-monitoring
Blood Glucose Device.
