Study of Glucometer Precision and Antimalarial Therapy Interference on Glucose Readings in Nigeria

Malaria-infected diabetic (MID) patients have become one of the highest diabetic population with comorbidities in Nigeria. While the artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) are used for malaria treatment, glucometers are used to monitor their blood glucose levels. However, some drugs are known to interfere with the accuracy of glucose readings leading to misdiagnosis. In this study, we investigated the interferences of artemether and lumefantrine as well as other known drug interferents on the accuracy of glucose readings in three different glucometers commonly used in Nigeria (Accu-Answer(R), VivaChek(R) and GlucoDr(R)). Blood sample was collected from a healthy volunteer, aliquots of the blood with pure samples of artemether and lumefantrinepowders as well as other known drug interferents were prepared in normal and low pools. The precision study on the glucometers were determined. We find that Accu-Answer(R) was the only precise glucometer considering its coefficient of variation. The influence of the artemether and lumefantrine was mild in two glucometers andthe predicted binding affinities showed possible binding interactions that may have caused their interferences.