EVALUATION OF THE NEW AUTOMATED ELISA VIDAS(R) LP(A) ASSAY - COMPARISON WITH AN IMMUNONEPHELEMETRIC METHOD

Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is a lipoprotein which has a plasma concentrat ion that is highly correlated with cardiovascular disease. In this stu dy, the new Lp(a) assay for the Vitek Immuno-Diagnostic Assay System ( VIDAS(R)) developed by bioMerieux was evaluated. This method uses an e nzyme linked fluorescent immunoassay (ELFIA) technique. Within-run and between-run reproducibility of the Vidas(R) Lp(a) assay are character ized by coefficients of variation (CV) of 3 to 5.9% and 3.9 to 5.9%, r espectively. Using analysis of variance, no statistical difference was shown between ELFIA and immunonephelometric assay (INA). When compari ng results of the Vidas(R) Lp(a) test with the INA, a highly significa nt correlation of r = 0.9708 and regression line equation y = 0.963x - 0.037 was found. Interference of lipemia was studied: no influence wa s observed up to 12.3 mmol l(-1) triglycerides. No interference of hae moglobin was noted for Lp(a) > 0.20 g l(-1). Hyperbilirubinemia (> 120 mu mol l(-1)) led to results being underestimated for concentrations of Lp(a) which were < 0.20 g l(-1). No pre-analytical interference of citrate was measured but pre-analytical interference of EDTA was found . In conclusion, this new fully automated immunofluorimetric Lp(a) ass ay enables to the rapid, accurate and reliable determination of Lp(a) in blood samples. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.