Recall on Clinical Glucose Test Strips - Do Consumers Get The Same Attention?

FDA announced a recall of glucose test strip used in clinical settings. The recall in part says,"..because they may report falsely low blood glucose levels. Because the test strips are reporting falsely low blood glucose when the true levels are above 265 mg/dL, there is a risk that the health care provider would not diagnose hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) including Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Syndrome in a timely manner and fail to treat elevated blood glucose levels."

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm483792.htm

So if you own a clinical machine, you should take precautions and check you test strip lots.

What we don't know is are the machines and strips used by millions every day working as approved. Who know? How would we know? Ther is no proactive, ongoing post-market process that acquires test strips the way PWD do; you know from retail channels and test them.

The vast majority of comments to FDA on the proposed glucose meter guidance in 2014 called for robust post-market processes. Procedures have been written but when will they be used?

People living work a day lives run the same risk of falsely low or high glucose levels that clinical machines present. More so if the number of blood checks done on retail machines vs. clinical ones is factored in.

Shouldn we be safe with home use devices?