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Knee skin pricking to monitor capillary blood glucose is less painful than finger pricking in children with type 1 diabetes

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Abstract

To identify whether capillary blood glucose measurement at an alternate site (knee) is equivalent to and less painful than capillary blood glucose measured by finger pricking. A randomized crossover trial was performed to compare capillary blood glucose measurements, pain, and preference between puncture sites (finger vs. skin fold of the knee) among 45 children with type 1 diabetes. A standard glucometer was used, and measurements were performed in both a fasting and postprandial state. In the comparison of capillary blood glucose measurements of the knee vs. the finger, we observed a non-significant difference of 5.95 ± 8.19 % and 1.32 ± 26.45 % in the fasting and postprandial states, respectively. Knee puncture was significantly less painful than finger pricking (P < 0.001). Capillary blood glucose levels measured by knee skin pricking are non-significantly lower than those measured by traditional finger pricking. Knee skin pricking is significantly less painful than finger pricking.

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Acknowledgments

MFCP conducted the study, analyzed the data, served as first author of the manuscript, and takes responsibility for its content. SPL provided support in data analysis and manuscript editing. RCL was involved in participant recruitment and review of the manuscript. We thank Itziar Rebollar and Luis Murguía for their collaboration in English editing.

Conflict of interest

This project had no external support or funding, and there are no potential conflicts of interest related to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, National Institute of Pediatrics, Mexico, City

    María F. Castilla-Peón & Raúl Calzada-León

  2. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico

    Sergio Ponce-de-León-Rosales

  3. Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico

    María F. Castilla-Peón

Authors
  1. María F. Castilla-Peón
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  2. Sergio Ponce-de-León-Rosales
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  3. Raúl Calzada-León
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Correspondence to María F. Castilla-Peón.

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Castilla-Peón, M.F., Ponce-de-León-Rosales, S. & Calzada-León, R. Knee skin pricking to monitor capillary blood glucose is less painful than finger pricking in children with type 1 diabetes. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries 35, 620–623 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-015-0342-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-015-0342-z

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