Comparison of Three Automated Calcitonin Immunoassays for Evaluating the Equivalence Near the Clinical Decision Point

Background: To date, only a few studies have focused on the standardization of the calcitonin assay, despite the fact that a lack of standardization of assays can lead to discrepancy in results. Here, we analyzed the concordance in serum calcitonin test results using three different assays. Methods: The serum calcitonin levels in 104 residual specimens collected between January and February 2020 were measured using three different systems. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients and the slopes and y-intercepts were assessed to derive all possible pairs of analyzers. The agreement of classification according to a clinically relevant cut-off was also evaluated using Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Results: The correlation coefficients for Cobas e801 versus LIAISON, Atellica IM-1600 versus LIAISON, and Cobas e801 versus Atellica IM-1600 were 0.77, 0.63, and 0.95, respectively. The kappa agreement of classification at a cut-off of 10 pg/mL was 0.81, 0.81, and 0.91, respectively. However, after excluding the data points for concentrations >20 pg/mL, the correlation coefficients decreased to 0.39, 0.22, and 0.90, respectively. Conclusions: Despite acceptable correlations for the full analytical measuring range, we observed limited correlations at low concentrations, especially around the clinical decision threshold. Therefore, continuous joint efforts by all stakeholders are essential for standardizing calcitonin assays.ope

Concordance of Three Automated Procalcitonin Immunoassays at Medical Decision Points

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a useful bacterial infection biomarker with the potential for guiding antibiotic therapy. We evaluated the concordance of three automated PCT immunoassays: Kryptor (BRAHMS GmbH, Hennigsdorf, Germany), Atellica IM 1600 (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Munich, Germany), and Cobas e801 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). In 119 serum samples with a PCT concentration <5.00 μg/L, Kryptor (reference assay) was compared with the other two immunoassays by Spearman's rank correlation, regression analysis, and concordance at two antibiotic stewardship medical decision points: 0.25 and 0.50 μg/L. The Atellica IM 1600 and Cobas e801 results showed high correlations with those of Kryptor, with correlation coefficient (ρ) values of 0.97 and 0.99, respectively. However, negative biases were observed in both immunoassays (slope/y-intercept: 0.75/-0.00 for Atellica IM 1600; 0.88/-0.01 for Cobas e801). Atellica IM 1600 and Cobas e801 demonstrated excellent concordance with Kryptor at both medical decision points, with linearly weighted κ values of 0.90 and 0.92, respectively, despite discrepancies, which were more prominent at the 0.25 μg/L medical decision point. Based on these biases and discrepancies, the alternate use of different PCT immunoassays in repeat examinations is inadvisable. Standardization is required before comparing the results of different PCT immunoassays.ope

Report of Korean Association of External Quality Assessment Service on the Accuracy-Based Lipid Proficiency Testing (2016-2018)

The accuracy-based lipid (ABL) proficiency testing (PT) program was started in 2016 by the Korean External Quality Assessment Service to minimize the matrix effect. We analyzed 3 years of the program. We made or purchased six kinds of commutable frozen sera based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 37A guideline and distributed it in two rounds per year from 2016 to 2018. We obtained reference values for levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), total glycerides, and triglycerides in each fresh frozen pool at the reference-measurement laboratories. We evaluated the average percent bias of the participating laboratories based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) bias limit. The number of participating laboratories evaluating TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides increased from 164 to 223, 163 to 223, 158 to 214, 98 to 139, and 61 to 82, respectively. The average percent bias of all participating laboratories for TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides was +0.14%, -0.54%, +2.9%, -1.08%, and -1.32%, respectively. The average percent bias exceeded the NCEP bias limit only once or twice for TC, HDLC, and total glycerides but frequently for LDLC (eight out of 18 pools). The manufacturer-specific bias estimation report seemed useful for traceability. Although the average percent bias of participating laboratories for TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides was mostly within the bias limit provided by NCEP, cases of bias limit exceeding the NCEP bias limit occurred occasionally, especially for LDLC during the 3 years of the ABL PT program in Korea, suggesting that ABL PT can be used to keep maintaining traceability.ope

Parvovirus B19-induced pure red cell aplasia in a liver transplant recipient

Parvovirus B19 infection is known to cause chronic anemia in immunocompromised hosts ; including organ transplant recipients. We report the first case of liver transplant recipient with parvovirus B19-induced pure red cell aplasia in Korea. A 57-yr-old female patient with hepatocellular carcinoma due to hepatitis C virus received a liver transplantation. Two months later ; anemia developed and she received periodic red blood cell transfusions. However ; chronic anemia persisted and bone marrow examination was performed 8 months after transplantation. Bone marrow aspiration smears showed markedly reduced erythroid precursors with atypical giant pronormoblasts and nuclear remnants with viral inclusions ; and characteristic lantern cells were observed in biopsy sections. In addition ; parvovirus B19 DNA PCR was positive. She was diagnosed as parvovirus B19-induced pure red cell aplasia and her anemia was improved following intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.ope

Performance evaluation of new automated hepatitis B viral markers in the clinical laboratory: two quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen assays and an HBV core-related antigen assay.

We evaluated quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) assays and a hepatitis B virus (HBV) core-related antigen (HBcrAg) assay. A total of 529 serum samples from patients with hepatitis B were tested. HBsAg levels were determined by using the Elecsys (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN) and Architect (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL) qHBsAg assays. HBcrAg was measured by using Lumipulse HBcrAg assay (Fujirebio, Tokyo, Japan). Serum aminotransferases and HBV DNA were respectively quantified by using the Hitachi 7600 analyzer (Hitachi High-Technologies, Tokyo, Japan) and the Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan test (Roche). Precision of the qHBsAg and HBcrAg assays was assessed, and linearity of the qHBsAg assays was verified. All assays showed good precision performance with coefficients of variation between 4.5% and 5.3% except for some levels. Both qHBsAg assays showed linearity from 0.1 to 12,000.0 IU/mL and correlated well (r = 0.9934). HBsAg levels correlated with HBV DNA (r = 0.3373) and with HBcrAg (r = 0.5164), and HBcrAg also correlated with HBV DNA (r = 0.5198; P < .0001). This observation could provide impetus for further research to elucidate the clinical usefulness of the qHBsAg and HBcrAg assays.ope

The plasma small dense LDL-cholesterol calculation formula proposed by Srisawasdi et al is not applicable to Koreans who are healthy or have metabolic syndrome.

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Hypertriglyceridemia is a Major Factor Associated With Elevated Levels of Small Dense LDL Cholesterol in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the major contributing component of metabolic syndrome (MetS) that results in an elevated small dense LDL cholesterol (sdLDL-C) concentration and sdLDL-C/LDL-C ratio. METHODS: Four hundred and forty-seven subjects (225 men; 222 women) with MetS were randomly selected from the Korean Metabolic Syndrome Research Initiatives-Seoul cohort study. Age- and sex-matched healthy controls (181 men; 179 women) were also randomly selected from the same cohort. RESULTS: A comparison of the median values of the sdLDL-C concentration between subgroups, divided according to whether subjects met or did not meet the criteria for each MetS component in patients with MetS, revealed a significant difference in the sdLDL-C concentration only between subgroups divided according to whether subjects met or did not meet the triglyceride (TG) criteria (P<0.05 for each gender). The TG level showed a good correlation with sdLDL-C concentration (correlation coefficients [r]=0.543 for men; 0.653 for women) and the sdLDL-C/LDL-C ratio (r=0.789 for men; 0.745 for women). Multiple linear regression analyses conducted for the MetS group concordantly identified TG as one of the most significant contributors to sdLDL-C concentration (β=0.1747±0.0105, P<0.0001) and the sdLDL-C/LDL-C ratio (β=6.9518±0.3011, P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Among five MetS components, only the abnormal TG level was a differentiating factor for sdLDL-C concentration and sdLDL-C/LDL-C ratio. These results were reproducible in both genders, with or without MetS.ope

Evaluation of the Analytical Performance of Atellica CH 930 Automated Chemistry Analyzer

Background: Recently, a new automated chemistry analyzer, Atellica CH930 (Siemens, Germany), was introduced. It automatically measures internal quality control (QC) materials according to a pre-determined schedule. For this purpose, the instrument has space for storage of QC materials. We evaluated the analytical performance of chemistry items by using the Atellica system. Methods: The precision of 29 items was evaluated with three levels of QC materials with two storage methods. We stored the QC materials in the dedicated storage space in the instrument during the precision evaluation period. In addition, we aliquoted and stored the materials in the refrigerator, and then loaded the material in a timely manner. Linearity, carry-over, and agreement with current methods were also evaluated. Results: The within-laboratory coefficient of variation (CV) of most items, except for total CO2 (tCO2), was within 5.0% in both QC storage methods without significant differences in CV between storage methods. The CV of tCO2 was 5.2%, 5.8%, and 5.1% at three different levels when the QC materials were stored in a dedicated space in the instrument. The linearity was acceptable, showing <5% nonlinearity. Although good agreement was observed for most items, some items, such as calcium, total bilirubin, aspartate transaminase, and chloride, showed unequivalent results. Conclusions: Atellica CH930 showed acceptable precision, linearity, and agreement in routine chemistry items. The automatic QC function using the storage device has no problem with stability or precision. It can reduce the manual process, allowing technicians to focus on reviewing the QC results and reporting reliable results.ope

Measurement of Plasma Free Hemoglobin Using Hemolysis Index and Bilirubin Interference

Plasma hemoglobin (pHb) is measured when hemolysis is suspected as a result of biochemical, immunological, and mechanical conditions. In this study, we evaluated the clinical feasibility of the hemolysis index (H-index) for pHb measurement using automated chemistry analyzers. A total of 176 plasma samples were analyzed for pHb in the Severance Hospital using a Lambda 365 UV/Vis spectrophotometer (PerkinElmer, USA) and Fairbanks method 2. The remnant samples after pHb measurement were then analyzed for total bilirubin, and H-indices were determined using the automated Atellica CH930 system (Siemens, Germany) and Cobas c702 system (Roche, USA). The equivalence and correlation among the methods were evaluated using Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis. All the methods showed high correlations with each other. However, the H-indices showed a negative constant bias compared to the Fairbanks method 2. When a cut-off value of 33.2 mg/dL was applied for diagnosis of hemolysis, 13 samples were determined positive by Fairbanks method 2 but negative by H-indices. These discordant results occurred mostly among samples with total bilirubin levels higher than 3 mg/dL (12 out of 13 samples). The correlation between total bilirubin and pHb measured by Fairbanks method 2 showed the largest correlation coefficient (R =0.347) and slope. These results suggest that the pHb measured by Fairbanks method 2 is more prone to bilirubin interference. In summary, our results suggest that H-indices from both automated chemistry analyzers possess excellent clinical feasibility for pHb measurements and have minimum total bilirubin interference compared to traditional measurement via Fairbanks method 2.ope

Protection of mice against pandemic H1N1 influenza virus challenge after immunization with baculovirus-expressed stabilizing peptide fusion hemagglutinin protein

Current influenza vaccines are produced in embryonated chicken eggs. However, egg-based vaccines have various problems. To address these problems, recombinant protein vaccines have been developed as new vaccine candidates. Unfortunately, recombinant proteins frequently encounter aggregation and low stability during their biogenesis. It has been previously demonstrated that recombinantly expressed proteins can be greatly stabilized with high solubility by fusing stabilizing peptide (SP) derived from the C-terminal acidic tail of human synuclein (ATS). To investigate whether SP fusion proteins can induce protective immunity in mice, we produced influenza HA and SP fusion protein using a baculovirus expression system. In in vitro tests, SP-fused recombinant HA1 (SP-rHA1) was shown to be more stable than recombinant HA1 (rHA1). Mice were immunized intramuscularly with baculovirus-expressed rHA1 protein or SP-rHA1 protein ($2{\mu}g/mouse$ 수식 이미지) formulated with aluminum hydroxide. Antibody responses were determined by ELISA and hemagglutination inhibition assay. We observed that SP-rHA1 immunization elicited HA-specific antibody responses that were comparable to rHA1 immunization. These results indicate that fusion of SP to rHA1 does not negatively affect the immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate. Therefore, it is possible to apply SP fusion technology to develop stable recombinant protein vaccines with high solubility.ope