Biomedical
Glucose inhibitor tubes in Croatian laboratories: are we doing well?
Peer Reviewed
Abstract
Introduction Reliable and accurate measurement of blood glucose concentration is of crucial importance for making clinical decisions in diagnosis diabetes, gestational diabetes and impaired fasting glucose tolerance. Materials and methods Survey was performed in form of questionnaire. Questionnaire was sent to all Croatian laboratories (N = 204) in electronic form using SurveyMonkey cloud-based software (SurveyMonkey, Inc., San Mateo, USA) as an extra-analytical module of the Croatian EQA (External Quality Assessment) provider Croatian center for external quality assessment (CROQALM) in June 2023. Results In total 148 (73%) of laboratories responded to the survey. Large proportion of laboratories never use glucose inhibitor tubes for random glucose measurement (more than half) or for glucose function tests (one quarter). Only three laboratories use recommended glycolysis inhibitor citrate. Many other inhibitors are also used, even if some of them are not recommended for plasma glucose measurement. Glucose is almost never (93%) sampled on ice when glucose inhibitor tube is not available. Conclusions Laboratories in Croatia do not follow the recommended procedures regarding glycolysis inhibitors for glucose determination.
Key Questions
1. What is the primary objective of the study?
The study aims to assess the compliance of Croatian laboratories with recommended procedures for using glycolysis inhibitors in glucose measurement.
2. What methodology was employed in the research?
A survey was conducted among all Croatian laboratories (N = 204) in June 2023, using an electronic questionnaire distributed via SurveyMonkey.
3. What were the main findings of the study?
The survey revealed that over half of the laboratories never use glucose inhibitor tubes for random glucose measurement, and a quarter do not use them for glucose function tests. Only three laboratories use the recommended glycolysis inhibitor, citrate. Additionally, many laboratories use inhibitors not recommended for plasma glucose measurement, and 93% do not sample glucose on ice when a glucose inhibitor tube is unavailable.
Summary
Vrtarić, Nikolac Gabaj, and Ćelap (2024) highlight significant deviations from recommended procedures in Croatian laboratories regarding the use of glycolysis inhibitors for glucose determination. The study underscores the need for adherence to established guidelines to ensure accurate glucose measurement.
