Semi-quantitative estimation of serum myoglobin by a rapid latex agglutination method: an emergency screening test for acute myocardial infarction

• Published in: Clinica chimica acta Vol. 145; no. 2; pp. 143 - 150
• Main Authors: Chapelle, Jean-Paul, Heusghem, Camille
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01.01.1985; Elsevier; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Adult; Aspartate Aminotransferases - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiology. Vascular system; Coronary heart disease; Creatine Kinase - blood; Emergencies; Female; Heart; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - enzymology; Human health sciences; Humans; Isoenzymes; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase - blood; Laboratory medicine & medical technology; Latex agglutination test; Latex Fixation Tests - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - diagnosis; Myocardial Infarction - enzymology; Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis/enzymology; Myoglobin - blood; Médecine de laboratoire & technologie médicale; Radioimmunoassay; Sciences de la santé humaine; Serum myoglobin; Myocardial infarction; Serum myoglobin; AST; CCU; MB; Latex agglutination test; Radioimmunoassay; CK; LD; SMb; RIA; MI; Human; Myoglobin; Infarct; Acute; Cardiovascular disease; Diagnostic; Metabolism; Coronary heart disease; Proteins; Myocardium; Serum; Emergency
• ISSN: 0009-8981; 1873-3492; 1873-3492
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-8981(85)90281-5

The present study reports the evaluation of a new latex agglutination test for serum myoglobin (8Mb). The time of agglutination of the latex particles coated with antibodies to myoglobin was measured in 172 serum specimens with known concentration of myoglobin quantitated by a radioimmunoassay (RIA), collected from myocardial infarction (MI) patients, subjects suffering from various diseases, and normal controls. Myoglobin levels in the samples were found to decrease exponentially with time of agglutination. Agglutination occurring within l min (result coded as + + + +) corresponded to 761 ± 366 jug/1 of myoglobin; between 1 and 2 min (+ + +), to 285 ± 101 μg/1; between 2 and 3 min(+ +), to 85 ± 47 μg/1; between 3 and 4 min (+), to 51 ± 38 jug/1; and after more than 4 min (−), to 31 ± 16 μg/1. Blood samples were serially drawn from 24 MI patients with short hospitalization delays; the rapid agglutination which was obtained in the specimens taken upon admission (20 results coded as + + + + and four as + + +) actually corresponded to markedly increased 8Mb levels. In contrast, serum creatine kinase (CK) activities were still < 150 U/1 in four patients (16.6%); CK-MB was < 5 U/1 in five cases (20.8%). Positive agglutinations for 8Mb were also obtained 4 and 8 h following admission in all subjects, confirming that the latex test is an early and very sensitive indicator for MI. Given its simplicity and practicability, the latex agglutination test is very convenient for the emergency laboratory; it can, therefore, yield a reliable