Effect of aging on dextrostix readings

Nurses working in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NBICU) should be aware that premature infants are susceptible to episodes of hypoglycemia. Dextrostix, a rapid method for determining blood glucose levels, are used frequently for detecting hypoglycemia in the newborn. During the process it has been observed that occasionally Dextrostix values underestimate simultaneous laboratory values of blood glucose. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the age" of Dextrostix would affect significantly the validity of Dextrostix readings. Twelve bottles of Dextrostix were used in this study. Each bottle was assigned a different "age" which was defined as the number of times the bottle had been opened prior to the day of data collection. Each bottle was opened on different days over a 26-day period. Room temperature, relative humidity, and light source were recorded daily during the 26-day period. Data were collected during a four-hour period in which 24 blood specimens were obtained. Each specimen was tested with one strip from each of the 12 bottles and read with a Reflectance Meter. Although differences were found between the means of the 12 groups of Dextrostix, a one-way analysis of variance indicated that these differences could be explained by chance. The hypothesis that the Dextrostix would be less sensitive to blood glucose with increased bottle aging was rejected. It is recommended that a study be conducted to compare Dextrostix values with simultaneous laboratory values for blood glucose with premature infants.