Objective: To inventory the errors made during self-monitoring of blood-glucose values by diabetes patients.
Design: Descriptive.
Method: In patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus who were registered with the West-Friesland Diabetes Care System (the Netherlands) during the period 1 April 2000-30 April 2001, and who had been monitoring their own glucose values for more than one year, checks for meter and user errors were carried out. When the patients first started using the glucose meter they were instructed by a diabetes nurse. The checks were carried out by a specially-trained nurse using a specifically-designed check list.
Results: Of the 249 participating patients, 123 were female and the mean age was 69 years. User errors in self-monitoring of the blood glucose occurred in 59 patients (24%). These primarily involved the use of expired or incorrect glucose strips (n = 17) and incorrect serial numbers (n = 16). No errors were made while placing the drop of blood on the glucose strip. Almost all patients had questions about the use of the glucose meter.
Conclusion: Systematic checks of patient self-monitoring detected user errors in 24%.