[Quantitative assays for C-reactive protein: a review].
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a single most important test among various serological tests which are routinely performed in clinical laboratories. While qualitative assays for CRP are being replaced by quantitative assays, standardization among various laboratories has become an urgent issue. The results of the past three-year surveys conducted by the Japanese Medical Association showed that the coefficients of variation (CV) for CRP assays ranged between 12.6% and 46.9% (1990), although these figures gradually changed for the better. These results clearly indicate that a CRP value obtained in one laboratory cannot be compared directory with that obtained in another laboratory. Every assay for CRP is considered to show good reproducibility, however, which is predicted by the results of within-run precision tests (CV:3.9-7.8%). It is very important to establish standardization for CRP assays but one has to conclude that the path toward this goal is very difficult when one takes into consideration various factors inherent to immunological reactions of macromolecules including possible microheterogeneity of CRP molecules.
Oyamada
H
H
Central Clinical Laboratory, Akita University Hospital.
Nakagomi
O
O
Uesugi
S
S
D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D002097:C-Reactive Protein