Interferences in hormone immunoassays

Despite the numerous potential interferences that were discussed in this article, immunoassays, in general, are robust measurement systems. There is no practical way to identify specimens a priori that are likely to have immunoassay interference. Therefore, laboratories must rely on communication from clinicians to identify suspicious test values that may be caused by assay interference. After laboratories are alerted, multiple investigations can be undertaken. The common causes of immunoassay interferences (see Box I) are dependent on the analytic format. Competitive assays are most likely to have problems with cross-reactivity, whereas immunometric assays most often have problems with heterophile antibodies. The simple steps to test for dilutional linearity, spiked recovery, heterophile antibody blocking,and testing with alternate technology can help in the evaluations of cases that are suspected to have assay interference.