Validity of Serum Fructosamine as Index of Short-Term Glycemic Control in Diabetic Outpatients

Abstract

The glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) assay has become the standard by which clinicians have assessed long-term glycemic control in patients. Due to the relatively long half-life of the erythrocyte, the assay is not suited to monitor glycemic control over several weeks. In recent years, the measurement of serum glycosylated proteins with half-lives ranging from 17 to 20 days have been postulated to be more sensitive than the HbA1c in detecting intermediate glycemic control (1–3). Several methods have been used to measure serum protein glycosylation such as the 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural colorimetric assay and affinity chromatography on boronate-agarose gels (1–4). However, these assays are time consuming and are not readily available in commercial laboratories for widespread clinical application. The fructosamine assay is a new colorimetric assay designed to measure serum glycosylated protein concentration.