First evaluation of a multi-capillary electrophoresis CDT assay on Helena Biosciences' V8 analyser

Background: Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin measurement is currently used for the routine monitoring of excessive alcohol intake, thus playing a fundamental role in the management of alcohol consumption disorders as well as for medico-legal purposes. The aim of the present paper is to report the results obtained from the first performance evaluation of a new CDT quantification assay, and to assess its suitability in routine work. Methods: We assessed the analytical performances of the multi-capillary electrophoresis analyser Helena Biosciences' V8 (R) E-class and compared the results obtained with those from the HPLC BioRad Ready-Prep CDT assay. Furthermore, we evaluated the robustness of the system in a routine work conditions. Results: Within laboratory imprecision CV% (n = 40) using four commercially available quality control materials and two serum pool samples with different concentrations of CDT were <11.2%. The comparison made with the established method was CDT[V8capillary electrophoresis] = 0.84 x CDT[HPLC] + 0.03, with a Pearson coefficient of r = 0.970, and with the Bland-Altman plot showing a significant bias -0.3 (-0.4 to -0.22,95% CI). The obtained accuracy was highly satisfactory. Conclusions: The findings made in the present study indicated that the proposed analytical system is a valid alternative to other CDT screening assays currently proposed for routine use in clinical laboratories, since it is precise, accurate and robust, with a high throughput Moreover, investment in the training of staff is of fundamental importance in ensuring correct interpretation of the electrophoretic pattern, thus providing reliable CDT results. (C) 2014 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.