A comparison of home glucose monitoring with determinations of hemoglobin A1c, total glycated hemoglobin, fructosamine, and random serum glucose in diabetic patients.

We compared four objective measures of glycemic control (fructosamine, total glycated hemoglobin, hemoglobin A1c, and random serum glucose) with home glucose monitoring records in 17 diabetic patients followed up prospectively for 4 months. There was good overall correlation between all of these objective measures and weekly mean capillary glucose values. However, considerable scatter was seen in the data such that none of the glycated protein measurements was an ideal predictor of home glucose values. For example, all markedly elevated home glucose levels (greater than 11.1 mmol/L) were associated with elevated glycated protein levels, but moderately high blood glucose levels (8.3 to 11.1 mmol/L) were associated with one or more normal glycated protein values in some patients. Similar correlations were obtained whether glycemia was estimated by 1-week or 6-week home averages. Random serum glucose level also correlated with average home glucose level; however, there was wide fluctuation within individual subjects. All three glycated protein measurements (hemoglobin A1c, glycated hemoglobin, and fructosamine) appear equally useful as a supplement to home glucose monitoring in the assessment of glycemic control. Of the three types of glycated protein assays, fructosamine, with its advantage of speed and simplicity, may offer a more cost-effective alternative.