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Comparative Study
. 2016 May 6:6:25465.
doi: 10.1038/srep25465.

Evaluation of the appropriateness of using glucometers for measuring the blood glucose levels in mice

Yu Togashi  1 , Jun Shirakawa  1 , Tomoko Okuyama  1 , Shunsuke Yamazaki  1 , Mayu Kyohara  1 , Ayumi Miyazawa  1 , Takafumi Suzuki  1 , Mari Hamada  1 , Yasuo Terauchi  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Evaluation of the appropriateness of using glucometers for measuring the blood glucose levels in mice

Yu Togashi et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Glucometers are also widely used in diabetes research conducted using animal models. However, the appropriateness of measuring blood glucose levels using glucometers in animal models remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the consistency between the blood glucose levels measured by 11 models of glucometers and plasma glucose levels measured by a laboratory biochemical test in blood samples collected by retro-orbital sinus puncture or tail-tip amputation. In both blood samples obtained by retro-orbital sinus puncture and those obtained by tail-tip amputation, 10 of the 11 models of glucometers yielded higher glucose values, while 1 yielded lower glucose values, than the plasma glucose values yielded by the laboratory test, the differences being in direct proportion to the plasma glucose values. Most glucometers recorded higher blood glucose levels after glucose loading and lower blood glucose levels after insulin loading in retro-orbital sinus blood as compared to tail vein blood. Our data suggest that the blood glucose levels measured by glucometers in mice tended to be higher than the plasma glucose levels yielded by the biochemical test under the hyperglycemic state, and that differences in the measured levels were observed according to the blood collection method depending on the glycemia status.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the glucose concentrations measured by the glucometers (No. 1–11) and the plasma glucose concentrations measured by a laboratory method in blood samples obtained by retro-orbital puncture. Scatter plot (left) and Bland-Altman plot (right) of measurements by each glucometer (No. 1–11) and plasma glucose levels measured in the laboratory by the mutarotase GOD method (No. 12) in retro-orbital venous blood samples (N =  58). Solid lines in the scatter plots (left) represent lines of equivalence. Solid line in the Bland-Altman plot (right) represents estimated conditional mean values for glucometer coefficients derived by linear regression. Solid circles indicate samples within the measurement limits of the glucometer. Open angles indicate samples showing values over the limit of detection of the glucometers. The p value for the slope is indicated in the Bland-Altman plot.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the glucose concentrations measured by the glucometers (No. 1–11) and the plasma glucose concentrations measured by a laboratory method in blood samples obtained by tail-tip amputation. Scatter plot (left) and Bland-Altman plot (right) of measurements by each glucometer (No. 1–11) and plasma glucose levels measured in the laboratory by the mutarotase GOD method (No. 12) in tail-tip blood samples (N =  40). Solid lines in the scatter plots (left) represent lines of equivalence. Solid line in the Bland-Altman plot (right) represents estimated conditional mean values for glucometer coefficients derived by linear regression. Solid circles indicate samples within the measurement limits of the glucometer. Open angles indicate samples showing values over the limit of detection of the glucometers. The p value for the slope is indicated in the Bland-Altman plot.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of the method used for the blood collection: retro-orbital vessel puncture vs. tail-tip amputation. Plasma glucose levels were measured in the laboratory by the mutarotase GOD method (No. 12), and blood glucose levels were measured by each glucometer (No. 1–11). (a) Sampling in the random-fed status (N =  18). (b) Sampling conducted 15 min after oral glucose loading (N =  10). (c) Sampling conducted 30 min after intraperitoneal insulin loading (N =  8). *P <  0.05. **P <  0.01. Values are the means ±  SE. Black bars, retro-orbital vessels, White bars, tail-tip.
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