From pH to glucose: Implementing a simple point-of-care method for platelet quality control

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Blood Banking Quality Control

Background:

• The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) recommends glucose measurement over pH for quality control of platelet concentrates (PCs).
• Validated, simple glucose measurement methods for blood establishment (BE) laboratories are currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using a point-of-care (POC) glucometer for glucose determination in PCs stored in platelet additive solutions (PAS-E).

Main Methods:

• Thirty PAS-E-stored PCs were analyzed on storage days 2 and 6.
• Glucose levels were measured using a POC glucometer (Accu-Chek Instant®) and compared with a reference autoanalyzer (AU5800, Beckman Coulter®).
• Statistical methods included paired testing, categorical analysis at low concentrations, and correlation analysis.

Main Results:

• Glucose measurements by the POC glucometer and autoanalyzer showed comparable results on day 6 (p=0.415).
• A strong linear association was observed between the methods (r=0.988; p<0.001).
• Classification of samples below the 10 mg/dL threshold did not differ significantly between the two methods.

Conclusions:

• A POC glucometer offers reliable and comparable glucose measurements in PAS-E PCs versus a standard autoanalyzer.
• This rapid, cost-effective method supports the EDQM recommendation and can improve QC efficiency in BE laboratories.