Soreness after finger stick

[pellicle]

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The InRatio made it easier to do a test than it was with the ProTime meters -- first drop, small spot -- but it still took/takes a bit of practice getting an adequate drop and placing precisely where it's supposed to go.

My Coag-Sense meter also has a bit of a learning curve -- taking that drop and sucking it into a transfer tube or minipipette, then transferring it onto the strip. It takes a bit of practice,

Seems to sound more complex than the coaguchek which is rather similar to what diabetics use.

I wasn't wanting to challenge your choice, by the way. I was just interested. It still sounds more cumbersome. I however, never made a choice, I was given the coaguchek by ATS as a gift. I had no idea that it was part of the gig.

 

[Rain]

Just to be clear, for someone who may not know… You should never squeeze the finger right next to the incision to get blood out. You can mix 'finger juice' with your blood doing this according to my cardiologist and the maker of my Protime machine.

 

[Protimenow]

A couple things:

I'm pretty sure that the CoaguChek XS is probably the easiest machine to use. Being able to just touch that drop of blood to the side of the strip sounds pretty simple to do.

The ProTime meter is the only meter that requires that you discard (wipe it away with a paper towel or gauze pad) that first drop of blood. In order to get ENOUGH blood into the cup in the ProTime's lancing device, you almost HAVE TO milk the finger a bit. The ProTime is okay with the interstitial fluid (what you called 'finger juice') because it tests for other factors in the blood than the other meters account for). (The five channel Pro-Time cuvettes use 25 microliters of blood, if I recall correctly -- much more than just a drop. Coag-Sense and the others want somewhere around 10-15 microliters - more like a real drop.)

Yes, the Coag-Sense is more complicated to use because you need a separate device to get the blood off the finger and onto the strip. However, once you get the hang of it, it really isn't much of a problem. I have never tested with a CoaguChek XS, so I have no idea if it's more or less accurate than the Coag-Sense (or ProTime). For ease of use, the CoaguChek XS is probably at the top of the list.