To help monitor your diabetes over time, especially if it is not possible to monitor using the HbA1c test; to help determine the effectiveness of changes to your diabetic treatment plan
Fructosamine
When you are diabetic and your doctor wants to evaluate your average blood glucose level over the last 2-3 weeks
A blood sample taken from a vein in your arm
No test preparation is needed.
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How is it used?
Both fructosamine and HbA1c tests are used primarily as monitoring tools to help diabetics control their blood sugar. HbA1c is most frequently used but fructosamine may be useful in situations where HbA1c cannot be reliably measured. These include:
- Rapid changes in diabetes treatment – fructosamine allows the effectiveness of diet or medication adjustments to be evaluated after a couple of weeks rather than months
- Diabetic pregnancy – good control is essential during pregnancy, and the needs of the mother frequently change during gestation; fructosamine measurements may occasionally be requested along with glucose levels to help monitor and accommodate shifting glucose and insulin requirements
- RBC loss or abnormalities – the HbA1c test will not be accurate when a patient has a condition that affects the average age of red blood cells (RBCs) present, such as haemolytic anaemia or blood loss. The presence of some haemoglobin variants may affect certain methods for measuring HbA1c. In these cases, fructosamine can be used to monitor glucose control.
The fructosamine test is not used to diagnose diabetes. The World Health Organisation recommends a glucose or HbA1c blood test if diabetes is suspected.
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When is it requested?
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What does the test result mean?
If a patient’s fructosamine is increased, then the patient’s average glucose over the last 2 to 3 weeks has been elevated. In general, the higher the fructosamine concentration the higher the average blood glucose level. Trends may be more important that absolute values. If there is a trend from a normal to high fructosamine, it may indicate that a patient’s glucose control is not adequate – that they are getting too much sugar and their treatment has become less effective. In these situations, diet and treatment plans may need to be reviewed.
Fructosamine results must be evaluated in the context of the patient’s other clinical findings. Falsely low fructosamine results may be seen with decreased blood total protein and/or albumin levels, with conditions associated with increased protein loss, or with changes in the type of protein produced by the body. In this case, a discrepancy between the results obtained from daily glucose monitoring and fructosamine testing may be noticed. Also, someone whose glucose concentrations swing erratically from high to low may have normal or near normal fructosamine and HbA1c levels but still have a condition that requires frequent monitoring.
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Is there anything else I should know?
High levels of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), lipaemia, haemolysis, and hyperthyroidism can interfere with test results.
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If I have diabetes, do I need to have both HbA1c and fructosamine measurement?
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Do I need to fast for a fructosamine test?
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Shouldn't someone with a family history of diabetes have a fructosamine test?