Pre-analytical factors affecting troponin measurement

Pre-analytical factors rnay influence the results of any pathology test. This rnay be of particular importance with testing for cardiac troponins due to the complexity of the molecular forms, the variation in analytical specificity between different troponin assays and the fact that most samples come from the Emergency Department, where certain types of errors rnay be more common. Pre-analytical factors which rnay affect troponin results include sample type, analyte stability, haemolysis, heterophile antibodies, fibrin clots, timing of sample collection as well as the generic factors of patient identification, sample labelling and drip-arm contamination. For any laboratory it is vital to understand the effects of these issues on the assay used and, where possible, provide mechanisms to contro1 their effect on assay results and clinical decision-making.