Discordant troponin I value in a young woman: a case report with review of literature

Abstract

Abstract Objective We reported a young woman who had false high troponin value due to antibody interference. Our aim is to look at the approaches to be taken into consideration in determining troponin (Tn) assay interference. Patients and methods A 36-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with chest pain. At presentation, TnI value was found 2.26 ng/mL (99th percentile <0.01 ng/mL). Troponin measurements were repeated with alternative platforms. Serum sample of the patient was treated with heterophile antibody blocking tube (HBT). In addition, polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and serial dilutions were applied to serum. Results All of the Tn results in alternative platforms were found under cut off value and serial dilutions of patient serum did not show linearity. After PEG precipitation, TnI value was decreased from 2.34 ng/mL to 0.01 ng/mL (recovery: 0.85%), suggesting antibody interference. Incubation of the patient sample with HBT showed 93.1% of recovery. Conclusion To investigate the presence of interference, use of multiple methods that can be applied in the clinical laboratories is more reliable than a single method.