The accuracy and acceptability of performing capillary blood glucose measurements at the earlobe

Chan, Helen Yue Lai; Lau, Tracy S.L.; Ho, Sai Yin; Leung, Doris Y. P.; Lee, Diana

doi:10.1111/jan.12944

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…In addition, Japanese infants and children tend to fear injection needle. Since subjects aged 22 to 94 (mean 74.4) years felt a significantly lower level of pain when the earlobe rather than fingertip was pricked [ 11 ], therefore, it would be meaningful to establish an acceptable method for BPb determination by using blood obtained from the earlobe, instead of the fingertip. This method would be favorable for application to children because earlobe puncture is less visible compared to fingertip puncture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A methodological consideration for blood lead concentrations obtained from the earlobe in Japanese adults occupationally unexposed to lead

Tatsuta

Nakai

Iwai-Shimada

et al. 2017

Environ Health Prev Med

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BackgroundNeuropsychological effects of considerably low levels of lead exposure are observed in children, and a reliable and possibly painless technique that can detect such levels is required for the assessment of such exposure. We examined whether the blood lead (BPb) concentrations obtained from the earlobe were as valid and useful as those from the median cubital vein.MethodsPaired blood samples were collected from the earlobe and cubital vein of 112 Japanese participants occupationally unexposed to lead, and the BPb levels were determined using ICP-MS.ResultsThe limit of detection of BPb for the ICP-MS method was 0.015 μg/dL, and there was no participant with a BPb level below this limit. The median values of BPb concentrations were 0.91 (range, 0.41–2.48) μg/dL for earlobe blood using a 175-μL capillary tube and 0.85 (0.35–2.39) μg/dL for venous blood using a 5-mL vacuum tube. There was a significant correlation between the earlobe BPb levels and cubital vein BPb levels (Spearman rank correlation r S = 0.941), though the earlobe BPb levels were significantly higher than the cubital vein BPb levels. Most of the participants regarded earlobe puncture as a painless method.ConclusionsThese data suggest that earlobe BPb levels can be used to assess lead exposure in children. Blood collection using a capillary tube should be done carefully and promptly because slow withdrawal may lead to measurement bias.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A methodological consideration for blood lead concentrations obtained from the earlobe in Japanese adults occupationally unexposed to lead

Tatsuta

Nakai

Iwai-Shimada

et al. 2017

Environ Health Prev Med

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Alternate site testing for diabetes self-care

Miller¹

2021

Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!

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Validation of earlobe site as an alternative blood glucose testing approach

Owida

Al-Nabulsi

Ma’touq

et al. 2022

THC

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BACKGROUND: Drawing blood from the fingertips for glucose testing is painful and likely to cause tissue damage over time. Earlobes are an alternative site for glucose measurement. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to validate the earlobe as an alternate test site for blood glucose testing by demonstrating valid and reliable statistically significant differences between the earlobes and standard reference sites. METHODS: Blood glucose concentrations from 50 volunteers were measured and statistically analysed from the reference sites (forearm and fingertip) and earlobe. The analysis included: 1) one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), 2) regression analysis, 3) Bland Altman analysis, and 4) Clarke Error Grid analysis. RESULTS: The results indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between the three blood glucose-testing methods. For the forearm-earlobe and fingertip-earlobe, all measurements were grouped around the mean of 3.7 ± 1.96 SD and 2.96± 1.96 SD, respectively. Error grid analysis showed > 97% of all earlobe and references measurements fell in Zones A and B and were in the clinically acceptable level. CONCLUSIONS: The results have shown that the earlobe is a valid substitute for blood glucose measurements.

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The accuracy and acceptability of performing capillary blood glucose measurements at the earlobe

Abstract: The earlobe is to be recommended as a safe alternative site for capillary blood glucose monitoring unless the patient is in a suspected hypoglycaemic state.

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

A methodological consideration for blood lead concentrations obtained from the earlobe in Japanese adults occupationally unexposed to lead

A methodological consideration for blood lead concentrations obtained from the earlobe in Japanese adults occupationally unexposed to lead

Alternate site testing for diabetes self-care

Validation of earlobe site as an alternative blood glucose testing approach

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