title: Reproducibility, accuracy and concordance of Accutrend Plus for measuring circulating lipid concentration in adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The determination of lipid biomarkers by capillary sampling may be useful in the screening, diagnosis and/or personal management of hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular risk. It remains unclear whether the use of the Accutrend Plus system is appropriate. This study aimed to assess its reproducibility, accuracy and concordance for blood lipid profiling in adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fasting capillary total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) concentration on Accutrend Plus were compared with their venous analogues obtained by a laboratory reference method in sixty-one adults (27 men and 34 women, aged 33.0 years). Supplementary capillary sampling was performed at two consecutive days taking into account macro-nutrient intake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The day-to-day reproducibility of the Accutrend Plus system proved to be high for TC (ICC = 0.85, P < 0.001), but moderate for TG (ICC = 0.68, P < 0.001). Strong correlations (r > or = 0.80, P < 0.001) with the reference method were found for TC and TG. Mean difference (limits of agreement) were: 0.26 mmol/L (-0.95, 1.47) for TC, and -0.16 mmol/L (-1.29, 0.98) for TG. The concordance for subject classification according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines was significant (P < 0.001), with substantial agreement for TC (K(w) = 0.67), and moderate agreement for TG (K(w) = 0.50).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Day-to-day reproducibility of the Accutrend Plus device for TC and TG is not optimal and lacks accuracy when compared to the reference laboratory method. The concordance between both methods for classifying subjects according to the NCEP is inadequate. Accutrend Plus device should not be interchangeably used as a substitution for the standard laboratory methods in the diagnosis of hyperlipidemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Anatomy (EXAN), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. aldo.scafoglieri@vub.ac.be
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scafoglieri
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tresignie
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Provyn
authors.forename: Jan Pieter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Clarys
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bautmans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol