Comparison of point-of-care testing and hospital-based methods in screening for potential type 2 diabetes mellitus and abnormal glucose regulation in a dental setting

This study aimed to compare the screening methods between point-of-care (POC) testing and hospital-based methods for potential type 2 DM and abnormal glucose regulation (AGR) in a dental setting. A total of 274 consecutive subjects who attended the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, were selected. Demographic data were collected. HbA_1c was assessed using a finger prick blood sample and analyzed with a point-of-care (POC) testing machine (DCA Vantage® ). Hyperglycemia was defined as POC HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%. Random blood glucose (RBG) was also evaluated using a glucometer (OneTouch® SelectSimple™) and hyperglycemia was defined as RBG ≥ 110 mg/dl or ≥140 mg/dl. The subjects were then sent for laboratory measurements for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and HbA_1c . The prevalence of AGR (defined as FPG ≥ 100 mg/dl or laboratory HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%) and potential type 2 DM (defined as FPG ≥ 126 mg/dl or laboratory HbA_1c ≥ 6.5%) among subjects was calculated and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using FPG and HbA_1c for the diagnosis of AGR and potential type 2 DM. The prevalence of hyperglycemia defined as POC HbA_1c ≥ 5.7%, RBG ≥ 110 mg/dl, and RBG ≥ 140 mg/dl was 49%, 63%, and 32%, respectively. After the evaluation using laboratory measurements, the prevalence of AGR was 25% and 17% using laboratory FPG and HbA_1c criteria, respectively. Based on the ROC curves, the performances of POC HbA_1c and RBG in predicting FPG-defined potential type 2 DM were high (AUC = 0.99; 95% CI 0.98–0.99 and AUC = 0.94; 95% CI 0.86–1.0, respectively) but lower in predicting AGR (AUC = 0.72; 95% CI 0.67–0.78 and AUC = 0.65; 95% CI 0.59–0.70, respectively). This study suggested that POC testing might be a potential tool for screening of subjects with potential type 2 DM in a dental setting.