Expired Glucose Test Strips Used During Blood Sugar Testing
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) used expired glucose test strips to check a resident's blood sugar during medication administration. The LVN was observed at the resident's bedside using test strips from a bottle that was past its expiration date. Upon interview, the LVN acknowledged that the strips were expired, should not have been used, and should have been discarded from the medication cart. The facility's Director of Nursing (DON) confirmed that facility protocol requires all glucose test strips in use to be current and discarded once expired, as expired strips can provide inaccurate results. The resident involved had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease, and a gastrostomy, and was dependent on staff for all activities of daily living. The resident's medication administration record indicated the use of insulin based on blood glucose readings. The facility's policy and procedure required checking expiration dates prior to administering medications and ensuring safe administration practices. Despite these protocols, expired test strips were used for blood sugar testing, constituting a failure to ensure drugs and biologicals were properly labeled and stored, and that expired supplies were not used in resident care.