Recommending Alternate Site Testing To Patients - Roche Accu-Chek Performa Manuel De L'utilisateur

Recommending Alternate Site Testing to Patients

Decisions about whether to recommend alternate site testing (AST) should take into account
the motivation and knowledge level of the patient and his or her ability to understand the
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considerations relative to diabetes and AST. If you are considering recommending or using
AST for your patients, you need to understand that there is a potential for a significant
difference between fingertip and alternate site blood glucose test results. The difference in
capillary bed concentration and blood perfusion throughout the body can lead to sample site-
to-site differences in glucose results. These physiological effects vary between individuals
and can vary within a single individual based upon his or her behavior and relative physical
condition. Our studies involving AST of adults with diabetes show that most persons will
find their glucose level changes more quickly in the fingers' blood than the alternate sites'
blood.* This is especially important when glucose levels are falling or rising rapidly. If you or
your patient is used to making treatment decisions based upon fingertip readings, you should
consider the delay, or lag-time, affecting the reading obtained from an alternate site.
* Data on file