Comparative analysis between portable glucometers and laboratory method for the measurement of glycemia in cattle

Abstract

Glucose is considered an important source of energy for cells, fetal growth and milk production in ruminants. Some diseases can be diagnosed by changes in blood glucose levels, which can currently be measured by two methods: the laboratory method and the method using portable glucometers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of glucose, measured with a portable glucometer for human use and another for veterinary use, with the laboratory method, considered the gold standard, to assess whether portable equipment can be accurate in blood glucose measurement at field, in cattle. Blood was collected from 17 bovines through the coccygeal vein and the samples were placed in a tube with sodium fluoride for colorimetric enzymatic laboratory analysis, and for the measurement of glucose concentration in portable glucometers, 1 drop of blood was used. The data showed normal distribution by the Shapiro-Wilk test (P = 0.128) and in the comparative analysis provided by the Tukey test (P <0.05) significant differences were observed between the methods. Therefore, the human glucometer and the veterinary glucometer cannot be used to measure the glycemic dosage in cattle, therefore, it is advisable to use only the gold standard method for measuring glucose in this species.