The professional-use systems HemoCue^® Glucose 201⁺ (HC201⁺) and HemoCue^® Glucose 201 RT (HC201RT) are widely used for point-of-care testing (POCT) of blood glucose (BG). HC201RT utilizes unit-use microcuvettes which can be stored at room temperature, whereas HC201⁺ microcuvettes have to be stored at <8 °C. In this study, system accuracy of HC201⁺ and HC201RT was evaluated using capillary and venous blood samples.

For each system, two reagent system lots were evaluated within a period of 2 years based on testing procedures of ISO 15197:2013, a standard applicable for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) systems. For each reagent system lot, the investigation was performed by using 100 capillary and 95 to 99 venous blood samples. Comparison measurements were performed with a hexokinase laboratory method. Accuracy criteria of ISO 15197:2013 and POCT12-A3 were applied. In addition, bias was analyzed according to Bland and Altman, and error grid analysis was performed.

When measuring capillary samples, both systems fulfilled accuracy requirements of ISO 15197:2013 and POCT12-A3 with the investigated reagent system lots. When measuring venous samples, only HC201⁺ fulfilled these requirements. Bias between HC201⁺ and reference measurements was more consistent over venous and capillary samples and microcuvette lots than for HC201RT. Error grid analysis showed that clinical actions might have been different depending on which system was used.

In this study, HC201⁺ showed a high level of accuracy irrespective of the sample type (capillary or venous). In contrast, HC201RT measurement results were markedly affected by the type of sample.