Knowledge of Validation Status of Point-of-care Glucometers among Veterinarians and Veterinary Technologists in Nigeria

Abstract

Point-of-care glucometers (PCGs) have of recent almost replaced the conventional laboratory methods of blood glucose determination in animals. This study evaluated the level of awareness and knowledge about the use of handheld PCGs among veterinarians and veterinary technologists. Respondents to a structured questionnaire included academic staff and laboratory technologists from veterinary schools and public and private veterinarians across Nigeria. Design of the questions progressed from whether one had ever used a PCG before or not, how they knew about the PCG, the brands used, for what purposes and on which animals. Results showed that out of 209 respondents, 75 (36%) had used PCGs. Of this number, 37 (49.33%) used PCGs for research purposes, while 36 and 6.67% had used the PCGs for diagnosis of glucose disorders in animals and for both research and diagnostic purposes, respectively. The distribution of respondents that knew about the validation status of the PCGs used was 2.67%. As values generated by each PCG vary significantly in different species, there may be chances of reporting erroneous research conclusions as well as misdiagnosis of glucose disorders with consequent erroneous therapies in such species.

Keywords: Point-of-care Glucometers, Validation status, Veterinarians.