The Food and Drug Administration is warning people that one of several glucose meters made by Abbott Diabetes Care can give misleading readings.
And, in some instances, mistaken readings have resulted in diabetics’ blood sugar levels becoming dangerously high, the FDA said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The misleading readings occur when meters are accidentally switched to give a person’s blood sugar level in the foreign standard of units, millimoles per liter, which results in a number that a diabetic can misinterpret as in the U.S. standard of units, milligrams per deciliter.
If a diabetic looks at an inaccurate reading, he can take the wrong dose of insulin or make incorrect dietary changes.
The switch can occur when someone sets the time and date on the meter.
The FDA also received reports that the switch takes place after a meter was dropped or its battery replaced, although the manufacturer hasn’t confirmed this.
The Alameda, California-based Abbott Diabetes Care said 2.25 million people use these products, and they’re not being recalled, and new glucose meters are being shipped with the proper unit of measurement locked in, the FDA said.