[Benefits of using an IFCC standardised capillary -electrophoresis method in CDT measurement]

CDT (Carbohydrate-Deficient Transferrin) has been the reference blood biological marker for screening and monitoring alcohol consumption for many years due to its high specificity. However, its generalization has been slowed by the lack of standardization of the methods used for its measurement. Thus, the limit of reference values could vary from one to three times depending on the procedure. A working group of the IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry) described a reference method validated by the IFCC and the JCTLM (Joint Committee for Traceability in Clinical Medicine). This made it possible to produce standards used by manufacturers to align their methods with the IFCC reference method. This study compared the results obtained with the «classic» procedure of a commercial capillary electrophoresis method with those obtained using the standardized IFCC procedure of the same method. The data were obtained from an external quality control from 2019 to 2024. The results show 1) a 40% decrease in the inter-laboratory dispersion of results, 2) an excellent correlation between the "Standard" procedure and the IFCC procedure and an alignment with the reference HPLC method measured in parallel. These results demonstrate the benefit of using a standardized IFCC procedure for the homogenization of CDT assay results.