Inhibitory effect of fluoride on glucose tests with glucose oxidase strips

Sodium fluoride was inadvertently added as a preservative to the urine of an eight-year-old boy with diabetes mellitus before urinary glucose was measured. On preliminary screening of the urine, the test by glucose oxidase paper reagent strip gave a negative reading for glucose, whereas quantitative urinary glucose assay by the coupled enzyme reaction (hexokinase-glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase) gave a glucose concentration of 81.5 g/liter. Inadvertent use of sodium fluoride as a urine preservative may cause a falsely negative result with the glucose tests involving oxidase.