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A case of false hypoglycemia by SMBG due to improper storage of glucometer test strips

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Abstract

Many types of glucometer test strips deteriorate in the presence of humidity. Storing test strips outside their container or removing them from their individual wrappers could worsen their measurement accuracy. While the measurement accuracy can gradually deteriorate under such conditions, some patients are unaware of this aspect of test strip care and handling. Although such a deterioration in glucometer accuracy is often seen in clinical practice, there are few reports that warn about this issue. This is the first case report of pseudohypoglycemia caused by the inappropriate storage of test strips, which resulted in inadequate use of medications and deterioration of glycemic control. In clinical practice, patients sometimes handle glucometers in unexpected ways. This can arise due to inadequate instruction. Patients should be advised to read the manual associated with the device carefully and to store the test strips in their original container, closing the cap tightly, and to take each test strip out of its individual wrapper just before it is used. Careful patient instruction is needed to ensure safe and stable diabetic control.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital for their excellent patient care.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Metabolism and Endocrinology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Motoyuki Tamaki, Akio Kanazawa, Yoshifumi Tamura, Tomoya Mita, Yoshio Fujitani & Hirotaka Watada

  2. Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital, Tokushima, Japan

    Motoyuki Tamaki, Atsuhisa Shirakami & Hiroshi Yamaguchi

  3. Sportology Center, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshifumi Tamura & Hirotaka Watada

  4. Center for Beta-Cell Biology and Regeneration, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshio Fujitani & Hirotaka Watada

  5. Center for Therapeutic Innovations in Diabetes, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Akio Kanazawa & Hirotaka Watada

  6. Center for Molecular Diabetology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Hirotaka Watada

Authors
  1. Motoyuki Tamaki
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  2. Akio Kanazawa
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  3. Atsuhisa Shirakami
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  4. Hiroshi Yamaguchi
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  5. Yoshifumi Tamura
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  6. Tomoya Mita
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  7. Yoshio Fujitani
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  8. Hirotaka Watada
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akio Kanazawa.

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Tamaki, M., Kanazawa, A., Shirakami, A. et al. A case of false hypoglycemia by SMBG due to improper storage of glucometer test strips. Diabetol Int 5, 199–201 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13340-013-0147-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13340-013-0147-6

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