Glucometer Saga Part ??

After lunch I came back up to feed Isaac. His nurse swapped with another nurse at 1:00 because the NICU had some new admits and the nurses got shuffled around. I found her with the phlembotomist using the ISTAT reader (lab reader) to test his glucose. I inquired as to why...his sugar was supposed to be read by his glucometer throughout the day, and 1x in the morning compared with the ISTAT. She'd been led to believe that his sugar was supposed to be read with the ISTAT throughout the day and the glucometer used once in the morning.

So she tracked down Isaac's nurse practitioner who clarified things and wrote a clear (I hope!) order in his charts. Isaac's bedside nurse apologized up and down. Really it wasn't her fault, I understood. I sure was glad to be there to correct this, though. The ISTAT requires so much more blood, and to have it done 8 times a day would have Isaac terribly anemic in no time. The ISTAT lab reader ended up erroring out, so it didn't even get a glucose reading. I showed his nurse how to use the glucometer (she'd never used this type before) and got his glucose number. His nurse in turn made a very clear sign in large letters explaining how and when Isaac's sugars were to be tested and hung it on his crib.

I'm hoping that this is the end of the glucometer saga...