[Is reliable blood glucose determination in the newborn infant possible with the small reflectance meter Reflolux S?]

With the reflectance meter Reflolux S (Accucheck III) high as well as low blood glucose levels can be determined with excellent precision irrespective of the sample's hematocrit value. Within the range from 20-50 mg/dl we found an average deviation from the expected value of less than 2 mg/dl; in selected samples, however, a difference of up to 10 mg/dl was recorded. The scatter can be explained by the influence of hematocrit values on the results. An increase of 10% in hematocrit lowered the measured glucose value by approximately 10%. At glucose concentrations below 40 mg/dl and in the presence of high resp. low hematocrit values any results obtained with this glucose meter will only have screening character; they should be re-run using an established method.