Interference With Blood Glucose Measurement

Interference With Blood Glucose Measurement Following Use of Parenteral Maltose/Galactose/Oral Xylose-Containing Products


This notice is intended to alert physicians, nurses, medical technologists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals of the potential for life-threatening falsely elevated glucose readings in patients who have received parenteral products containing maltose or galactose, or oral xylose, and are subsequently tested using glucose dehydrogenase pyrroloquinolinequinone (GDH-PQQ) based glucose monitoring systems. The GDH-PQQ method of glucose determination is non-specific for glucose and, in the presence of maltose, xylose, or galactose, may yield falsely elevated glucose readings.

Although this is a known drug-device interaction (1-5), there have been reports of the inappropriate administration of insulin and consequent life-threatening/ fatal hypoglycemia in response to erroneous test results obtained from patients receiving parenteral products containing maltose. Cases of true hypoglycemia can go untreated if the hypoglycemic state is masked by false elevation of glucose readings. Since hypoglycemia may be life threatening, it is important that health care providers prescribing and/or administering products containing the above sugars be aware of possible interference leading to incorrect results.



Interference With Blood Glucose Measurement :