Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 Jun;100(6):2147-53.
doi: 10.1210/jc.2014-4023. Epub 2015 Apr 21.

A Case With Immunoassay Interferences in the Measurement of Multiple Hormones

Affiliations
Case Reports

A Case With Immunoassay Interferences in the Measurement of Multiple Hormones

Ozlem Gulbahar et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Context: Commonly used immunoassays are not free from interference, which can be a confounder in the interpretation of test results. We present a case with extremely high multiple hormone levels due to such interference.

Case description: A 33-year-old woman with no specific symptoms had markedly elevated TSH with normal free T4 and free T3 levels. Repeated measurements revealed discordantly high TSH, ACTH, FSH, PTH, IGF-1, prolactin, β-human chorionic gonadotropin, and calcitonin levels without the associated clinical pictures. The measurements were repeated with the same patient sample on four different analytical platforms using chemiluminescence immunoassays/electrochemiluminescence immunoassays, and the results were divergent on each platform. Serial dilutions of serum samples revealed nonlinearity, suggesting assay interference. All hormonal measurements were in the normal range when heterophile antibody blocking tubes were used. The serum of the patient was then subjected to polyethylene glycol precipitation. The post-polyethylene glycol recovery resulted in hormone levels in the normal range. The patient did not receive any medications and has been under follow-up without any signs and symptoms for 24 months.

Conclusions: This report illustrates a rare case of falsely elevated hormone levels due to assay interference caused by heterophile antibodies. We point out the importance of a close collaboration between clinicians and the laboratory to avoid unnecessary clinical investigations as well as inappropriate treatments.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types