The d in d-stick

What does the "d" in "d-stick" stand for? I can't find any EMT or paramedic that knows, and I can't find the answer via Google. One paramedic said that she used to know. A nurse practitioner said that it stands for "dextrose," but I have my doubts about that. My best guess is "digit," as in "finger."

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Permalink Reply by Mike Rubin on December 28, 2008 at 8:26pm

That nurse practitioner is correct; "d" is for "dextrose."

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Permalink Reply by Paul Long on December 28, 2008 at 9:08pm

Yep, you're right. I did more digging. Dextrose is the biologically active form of glucose.

Dextrose is also called D-glucose, dextrose monohydrate (dextrose with one molecule of water), and dextrorotatory glucose. The dextro- prefix? "To the right." A solution of D-glucose rotates polarised light towards the right.

It irks me just a tiny bit that we refer to the procedure for determining "blood glucose" level as a "dextrose stick." I found a discussion of the dextrose/glucose issue in a journal.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on January 4, 2009 at 7:06am

You have to be old enough to have had to check blood sugar before the glucometer was invented. The "d-stick" or dextrostik was how we used to check blood sugar. Put a drop of blood on the stick, wait 15 seconds, wipe it off, and check the color against the chart on the box.

Lots of fun, and very bio-hazardy! Of course, nobody paid much attention to biohazards back then, either!

Skip

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Permalink Reply by James Keats on January 24, 2009 at 9:24am

Skip,

Thanks man, now your making me feel old! I remember doing those checks and having drops all over the place in a bouncing ambulance.

Same as when you used to stick your used sharps in the seat so you knew where they were. :-)

Times are a changing eh?