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

The glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) 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 HbA_1c 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.