CHEMILUMINESCENCE IMMUNOASSAY VERSUS THE MEASUREMENT OF REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES

OBJECTIVES. To compare the hormonal values determined by chemiluminesc ence immunoassay (CIA) and radioimmunoassay (RIA). METHODS. Blood samp les, drawn from eight volunteers during one menstrual cycle, were assa yed for estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle st imulating hormone (FSH) and prolactin by CIA and RIA methods. The valu es obtained from these two assay techniques were compared. Statistical analysis were performed using the t-test, Pearson correlation coeffic ient and simple linear regression analysis. RESULTS, CIA yielded lower mean values of LH, FSH, progesterone, but higher mean values of prola ctin than RIA. Mean estradiol levels assayed by the two methods were s imilar. There was a good correlation between the hormonal values perfo rmed by the two methods. By calculation, the CIA hormonal value could accurately predict the RIA value by 96.6, 93.9, 89.9 and 66.0% for pro gesterone, LH, FSH and prolactin, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The dispa rity in the hormonal values obtained from different assay methods warr ants clinicians to be aware of their clinical interpretation. Using th e same reference range for different assay methods is not appropriate. A comparative study between the new and standard assays is essential.