Have you ever thought you'd never get another drop of blood out a finger for glucose testing? Instead of using cold and callused
fingertips, earlobe sampling is an option. Samples from the earlobes and fingertips were compared in 50 participants at a
480-bed community hospital, and the mean difference between the two locations was 5.8 mg/dL. While the differences between
finger stick and earlobe glucose results in this study were statistically significant, clinical or practical significance
needed to be determined.
When considering typical insulin protocols, treatment based on a blood glucose value in error by 6 mg/dL would cause little
or no harm in most patients. In the study, 27 patients (54%) had significant differences in blood glucose at the two sites.
Of these, 11 (22%) would have received different treatment if the sample insulin protocol were used, depending on which site
value was chosen. The treatment difference was 0.5 to 1.0 unit of insulin for the sliding scale protocol and 1.0 to 2.0 units
per hour for the insulin infusion protocol.
Although statistically significant, the mean difference was not clinically significant. Therefore, the earlobe may be a safe
and effective alternative to exclusive use of the fingertips.
An unexpected finding was that pierced ears didn't seem to affect collecting a blood sample from the ear. The earlobe's surface
area isn't usually any larger than on the fingertip, so site rotation would be a boon for more testing options and enhanced
patient comfort.Anzalone, P. (2008). Equivalence of earlobe site blood glucose testing with finger stick. Clinical Nursing Research, 17(4),
251-261.
Staff Editor: MARTHA K. RAYMOND, RN, BSN, BS
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