Feasibility and Performance of Hemoglobin A1C Self-Testing During COVID-19 Among African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes.
Jihun Woo, Erum Z Whyne, Jaylen I Wright and 8 others
PMID 35658748WHAT IT FOUND
Home A1C self-testing with A1CNow was feasible and repeatable, but 24.7% of attempts failed.
Staff A1CNow readings were 0.68% lower than DCA readings. Do not rely on it for major treatment changes.
Key findings
01When home self-testing was repeated, 84 of 85 participants obtained at least one A1C value, and paired home readings had high test-retest reliability (r = 0.97).
02Home self-testing failed 111 of 450 attempts (24.7%), with higher failure in participants aged 75 or older (37.3%) and during phone-guided sessions (30.0%).
03A1CNow values were 0.68% lower than DCA values on average (A1CNow 7.2 ± 1.5% versus DCA 7.9 ± 1.6%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was African American adults from churches in Austin and surrounding areas, predominantly female, with mean age 63 ± 11 years. Detailed feedback and subjective ease of home testing were not systematically gathered. The A1CNow was compared with the DCA, not venous blood analyzed by a clinical laboratory, which the paper identifies as the gold standard. Home testing required remote staff support, and failure was higher with phone guidance and in participants aged 75 or older. The A1CNow maximum reportable range was 13.0%, while DCA's maximum range was 14.0%. In a very small number of cases, only a single A1C measurement was available.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat a home A1CNow result as equivalent to a laboratory A1C. In this study, staff A1CNow readings were 0.68% lower than DCA readings, and home self-testing failed 24.7% of attempts.