Valutazione delle caratteristiche analitiche dei metodi di misura delle troponine cardiache I e T: dalla teoria alla pratica di laboratorio. Documento congiunto del Gruppo di Studio Biomarcatori Cardiovascolari di SIBioC-Medicina di Laboratorio ed Europea

AUTORI

ABSTRACT

Evaluation of analytical performance of immunoassay methods for cardiac troponin I and T: from theory to laboratory practice. Joint document of SIBioC and European Ligand Assay Society

All the national and international guidelines recommend that cardiac troponins (cTnI and cTnT) should be considered the preferred biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and also that the 99th upper reference population limit (URL) value for cardiac troponins should be measured with an imprecision ≤10 CV%. Indeed, the measurement of the 99th URL of cTnI and cTnT is a very hard analytical challenge due to low biomarker concentrations in healthy subjects. For this reason, only after the year 2006, some manufacturers set up the first new generation of cTnI and cTnT immunoassays with improved analytical sensitivity in accordance with the quality specifications indicated by international guidelines. The most recent international guidelines recommend that immunoassays for cTnI and cTnT measurement, able to completely satisfy these quality specifications, should be defined high-sensitivity methods. These methods should be preferred for early diagnosis of ACS syndrome and also for stratification of cardiovascular risk in both general population and cardiac patients. Therefore, understanding the analytical performance of immunoassay methods for cTnI and cTnT, especially at the low normal concentration range, is critically important for both laboratory professionals and clinicians. The aim of this document is to discuss some theoretical considerations related to the definition of analytical sensitivity, as well as some critical aspects concerning the experimental protocols commonly adopted for evaluation and comparison of analytical performances of cardiac troponin immunossays.

BIBLIOGRAFIA