HemoCue β-glucose photometer evaluated for use in a neonatal intensive care unit

We evaluated the HemoCue β-Glucose Photometer system for use in our neonatal intensive care unit by assaying 178 heparinized whole-blood samples obtained by heel stick. The required sample size is 5 μL. Plasma glucose was analyzed by a glucose oxidase/oxygen electrode methodology. Across the glucose range of 1.28-21.87 mmol/L, the regression slope was 0.976 (r = 0.976, S_y|x = 0.475). For samples with hematocrit ≤0.30, the regression slope was 0.981 (r = 0.950, S_y|x = 0.415); for hematocrit of 0.31-0.49, the regression slope was 0.984 (r = 0.972, S_y|x = 0.508); and for hematocrit ≥0.50, the regression slope was 0.959 (r = 0.988, S_y|x = 0.394). Human whole blood, bovine whole blood, and bovine serum-based quality-control materials were studied. Except for assays of the low-concentration human control material, the total CV was <3.5%. The accuracy and precision of the HemoCue system were comparable with those of conventional laboratory instrumentation.