Observational studies on macroprolactin in a routine clinical laboratory
-
Julian H. Barth
,
Carys M. Lippiatt
Abstract
Background:
It is now recommended that all samples with raised prolactin should be examined for the presence of macroprolactin. We performed a retrospective review of our experience of macroprolactin to determine the incidence and the natural history of macroprolactin.
Methods:
A retrospective study of macroprolactin was made in a large clinical laboratory. Macroprolactin was measured on those samples where it is requested and where the total prolactin is >1000 mIU/L. Prolactin was measured using the Siemens Centaur and macroprolactin was measured following polyethylene glycol (PEG)-precipitation.
Results:
The incidence of macroprolactin in samples where the total prolactin was >1000 mIU/L was 36/670 (5.4%). During this period, 12,064 samples were received for prolactin analysis. Over the period since 2006, 22 subjects had a sample with an isolated macroprolactin measurement followed by another sample without macroprolactin after a median period of 0.46 years. Twenty-five subjects had multiple consecutive measurements of macroprolactin lasting a median period of 2.1 years. Fourteen subjects had more than six samples which had been subjected to PEG precipitation. In these subjects, the reproducibility of PEG precipitation over a median of 6 years was 1.1% CV (recovery 75% [26–110] (median [range])).
Conclusions:
The presence of macroprolactin can change over time and we cannot advise that once a test for macroprolactinemia has been performed that it is not necessary to repeat the investigation if a subsequent sample is hyperprolactinemic; nor can one assume that macroprolactin will not develop even if it has been excluded previously.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
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- Is it time to abandon the Nobel Prize?
- In Memoriam
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- Lupus anticoagulant testing using two parallel methods detects additional cases and predicts persistent positivity
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- Within-subject biological variation of activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, fibrinogen, factor VIII and von Willebrand factor in pregnant women
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- Thromboelastometry reveals similar hemostatic properties of purified fibrinogen and a mixture of purified cryoprecipitate protein components
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorials
- Procalcitonin for diagnosing and monitoring bacterial infections: for or against?
- Is it time to abandon the Nobel Prize?
- In Memoriam
- Norbert Tietz, 13th November 1926–23rd May 2018
- Reviews
- Procalcitonin guidance in patients with lower respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Telomere biology and age-related diseases
- Opinion Paper
- Procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy: an expert consensus
- Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
- mRNA expression profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells based on ADRB1 Ser49Gly and Arg389Gly polymorphisms in essential hypertension — a case-control pilot investigation in South Indian population
- General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- External quality assessment schemes for glucose measurements in Germany: factors for successful participation, analytical performance and medical impact
- Long-term stability of glucose: glycolysis inhibitor vs. gel barrier tubes
- Observational studies on macroprolactin in a routine clinical laboratory
- Anti-streptavidin IgG antibody interference in anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) IgG antibody assays is a rare but important cause of false-positive anti-CCP results
- Point-of-care creatinine testing for kidney function measurement prior to contrast-enhanced diagnostic imaging: evaluation of the performance of three systems for clinical utility
- Hematology and Coagulation
- Analytical performance of an automated volumetric flow cytometer for quantitation of T, B and natural killer lymphocytes
- Lupus anticoagulant testing using two parallel methods detects additional cases and predicts persistent positivity
- Reference Values and Biological Variations
- Within-subject biological variation of activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, fibrinogen, factor VIII and von Willebrand factor in pregnant women
- Within-subject and between-subject biological variation estimates of 21 hematological parameters in 30 healthy subjects
- Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclass reference intervals in children, using Optilite® reagents
- Cancer Diagnostics
- Serum carbohydrate sulfotransferase 7 in lung cancer and non-malignant pulmonary inflammations
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Clinical performance of a new point-of-care cardiac troponin I test
- Diabetes
- Testing for HbA1c, in addition to the oral glucose tolerance test, in screening for abnormal glucose regulation helps to reveal patients with early β-cell function impairment
- Effects of common hemoglobin variants on HbA1c measurements in China: results for α- and β-globin variants measured by six methods
- Infectious Diseases
- Serum procalcitonin concentration within 2 days postoperatively accurately predicts outcome after liver resection
- Predictive value of serum gelsolin and Gc globulin in sepsis – a pilot study
- Cerebrospinal fluid free light chains as diagnostic biomarker in neuroborreliosis
- Letter to the Editor
- Glucose and total protein: unacceptable interference on Jaffe creatinine assays in patients
- Interference of glucose and total protein on Jaffe-based creatinine methods: mind the covolume
- Interference of glucose and total protein on Jaffe based creatinine methods: mind the covolume – reply
- Measuring procalcitonin to overcome heterophilic-antibody-induced spurious hypercalcitoninemia
- Paraprotein interference in the diagnosis of hepatitis C infection
- Timeo apis mellifera and dona ferens: bee sting-induced Kounis syndrome
- Bacterial contamination of reusable venipuncture tourniquets in tertiary-care hospital
- Detection of EDTA-induced pseudo-leukopenia using automated hematology analyzer with VCS technology
- Early adjustment of antimicrobial therapy after PCR/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based pathogen detection in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis
- Thromboelastometry reveals similar hemostatic properties of purified fibrinogen and a mixture of purified cryoprecipitate protein components
- Bicarbonate interference on cobas 6000 c501 chloride ion-selective electrodes
