Question

Description:

Sylvia Gonzales, a 51-year-old female, is at the office for a 3-month return check for her newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. She states that she has taken the medication she received for her “sugar” and she knows the doctor wants to a do a special “sugar test” this time. Her medication list includes Januvia^® 100 mg daily.

The physician has ordered a fasting blood sugar (FBS) and a hemoglobin A1C blood test. You will need to perform both of these waived tests in your office lab.

Discussion Questions:

1. Identify equipment used by a medical assistant in an office laboratory.
2. You will be measuring Sylvia’s fasting blood glucose using a glucometer. You know this is classified as a waived test. What does the classification of waived test mean?
3. The glucometer contains an instrument called a photometer. How is blood glucose measured using a photometer?
4. Measuring blood glucose is a quantitative test. What does this mean?
5. What type of controls do you expect to use when measuring Sylvia’s blood glucose?
6. When should you run the controls?

Answer 1

ANSWER 1: TO CHECK FBS THE EQUIPMENT USED IS GLUCOMETER.

TO CHECK HBA1C BLOOD COLLECTION SYSTEM AND LANCET IS USED.

ANSWER 2: As defined by CLIA, waived tests are simple tests with a low risk for an incorrect result. Waived tests include tests that have been FDA-approved for use by patients at home. The application of methods to ensure that results are reliable and valid and that errors are detected and eliminated.

ANSWER 3:

• A conventional photometer is a hand-held electronic device that measures the quantity of light reflected from a particular body.
• The reflected light measured by the photometer translates by programming into a glucose concentration value using reference data that relates glucose concentration as a function of reflectance for a particular chromophore.
• The photometer also displays the glucose level in mg/dL using a liquid crystal display or light-emitting diode.

ANSWER 4:  QUANTITATIVE MEANS THE VALUE WHICH HAS NUMBERS.

GLUCOSE TEST GIVES THE SUGAR VALUE IN BLOOD. THUS IT IS QUANTITATIVE VALUE.

ANSWER 5: WE HAVE TO KEEP CONTROL IN DIET AND FOOD INTAKE. AS WE ARE DOING FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE SO WE HAVE TO KEEP PATIENT ON FASTING FOR CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME.

ANSWER 6 : 6- 8 HOURS, KEEP THE PATIENT ON FASTING FROM MIDNIGHT TILL NEXT MORNING.