Three routine methods for measuring high-density lipoprotein cholesterol compared with the Reference Method.
We compared the performance of three methods for quantifying high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with the Reference Method for HDL-C, using samples with a wide range of triglyceride (TG) concentrations (290-18000 mg/L). All three comparison assays-- utilizing a magnetic dextran sulfate precipitating reagent, a direct method, and a standard MgCl2-dextran sulfate reagent--were precise, with a run-to-run CV of less than or equal to 4.1%. However, the systematic error of these assays exceeded the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) performance goal of less than or equal to 10% in half of the concentration ranges tested. Nevertheless, the total error of the assays generally meets the current 22% limit set by the NCEP. Although both the magnetic dextran sulfate precipitation reagent and the direct assay can be performed more rapidly than the MgCl2-dextran sulfate assay, the direct assay involves no sample preparation and requires only 4 microL of sample excluding the dead space. Although precipitation is frequently inadequate with the MgCl2-dextran sulfate reagent at TG concentrations >6000 mg/L, both the magnetic and the direct reagent show no interference from high TG concentrations as great as 18 000 mg/L.
Harris
N
N
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Galpchian
V
V
Rifai
N
N
D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D016264:Dextran Sulfate; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D008280:Magnetics; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014280:Triglycerides; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D016264:Dextran Sulfate