Clinical evaluation of a radiometric assay specific for creatine kinase isoenzyme MB

A new radiometric assay specific for creatine kinase isoenzyme MB was evaluated with respect to its precision and agreement with a conventional electrophoretic CK-MB assay for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. The reference interval we find for serum CK-MB in healthy subjects is 0--30 micrograms/L. The coefficients of variation at 197 and 40 micrograms of CK-MB per liter, were 5.2 and 11.5%, respectively. In a clinical study of 52 consecutive patients admitted into a Coronary Care Unit with a diagnosis of suspected myocardial infarction, there was overall agreement in CK-MB results by the two assays for 51 of 52 patients. A more sensitive and quantitative assay that is specific for CK-MB can be helpful in cases where diagnosis of myocardial infarction is equivocal.