Diagnostic Limitations of Applying a Human Portable Blood Glucose Meter in the Detection of Hypoglycemia in Pregnant Ewes

Abstract

Pregnant ewes are susceptible to hypoglycemia and ketosis; therefore, monitoring glycemic status is extremely important. Portable blood glucose meters (PBGMs) can assist in quickly and conveniently identifying glycemic disturbances in this species, provided that they meet the criteria of analytical accuracy. This study evaluated the performance of a human PBGM (Accu-Chek Performa®, Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland) in the glycemic evaluation of 34 pregnant ewes at days 90 and 120 of pregnancy in comparison with the results of glycemia determination by a reference method (RM). The device showed a high positive correlation (r = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.57–0.82, p p ® results should be interpreted cautiously in pregnant sheep suspected of hypoglycemia.

Keywords

• sheep
• blood glucose
• Accu-Check Performa
• ISO 15197:2013