Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 312 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Fulltext Femoral head diameter in the Malaysian population
    Lee CK, Kwan MK, Merican AM, Ng WM, Saw LB, Teh KK, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2014 Aug;55(8):436-8.
    PMID: 25189306
    INTRODUCTION: Hip arthroplasty is commonly performed worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the diameter of the femoral head in the Malaysian population in relation to gender and race (i.e. among Malay, Chinese and Indian patients).

    METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study performed between January 1995 and December 2006, evaluating the femoral head diameters of all patients aged 50 years and above who underwent hemiarthroplasty at two major hospitals in Malaysia.

    RESULTS: A total of 945 femoral heads (663 women, 282 men) were evaluated. The mean age of the patients in our cohort was 75.2 ± 9.4 (range 50-101) years. The mean femoral head diameter (with intact articular cartilage) was 44.9 ± 3.2 (range 38-54) mm. In our study, men had a significantly larger mean femoral head diameter than women (47.7 ± 2.8 mm vs. 43.7 ± 2.4 mm; p < 0.05). Patients of Chinese ethnicity were also found to have significantly larger femoral head diameters, when compared among the three races studied (p < 0.05).

    CONCLUSION: Malaysians have a mean femoral head diameter of 44.9 ± 3.2 mm. Among our patients, Chinese patients had a significantly larger femoral head size than Malay and Indian patients. We also found that, in our cohort, men had significantly larger femoral head diameters than women.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  2. Fulltext Multiple regression analysis of anthropometric measurements influencing the cephalic index of male Japanese university students
    Hossain MG, Saw A, Alam R, Ohtsuki F, Kamarul T
    Singapore Med J, 2013 Sep;54(9):516-20.
    PMID: 24068061
    INTRODUCTION: Cephalic index (CI), the ratio of head breadth to head length, is widely used to categorise human populations. The aim of this study was to access the impact of anthropometric measurements on the CI of male Japanese university students.

    METHODS: This study included 1,215 male university students from Tokyo and Kyoto, selected using convenient sampling. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect of anthropometric measurements on CI.

    RESULTS: The variance inflation factor (VIF) showed no evidence of a multicollinearity problem among independent variables. The coefficients of the regression line demonstrated a significant positive relationship between CI and minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01), bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) and head height (p < 0.05), and a negative relationship between CI and morphological facial height (p < 0.01) and head circumference (p < 0.01). Moreover, the coefficient and odds ratio of logistic regression analysis showed a greater likelihood for minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01) and bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) to predict round-headedness, and morphological facial height (p < 0.05) and head circumference (p < 0.01) to predict long-headedness. Stepwise regression analysis revealed bizygomatic breadth, head circumference, minimum frontal breadth, head height and morphological facial height to be the best predictor craniofacial measurements with respect to CI.

    CONCLUSION: The results suggest that most of the variables considered in this study appear to influence the CI of adult male Japanese students.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  3. Fulltext Waist circumference and BMI cut-off points to predict risk factors for metabolic syndrome among outpatients in a district hospital
    Aye M, Sazali M
    Singapore Med J, 2012 Aug;53(8):545-50.
    PMID: 22941134
    INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a cluster of risk factors that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Waist circumference (WC), a surrogate indicator of abdominal fat mass, is used to measure central obesity associated with increased risk of hypertension, insulin resistance and type 2 DM, whereas body mass index (BMI) is traditionally used to measure somatic obesity. This study aimed to identify the WC and BMI cut-off points to predict the metabolic risk factors for MS and to determine which is a better predictor.
    METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted over a period of six months. The study involved 355 subjects aged 13-91 years. Youden's index was used to identify the optimal cut-off points.
    RESULTS: The optimal cut-off point of WC to predict individual metabolic risk in females was 84.5-91.0 cm. The BMI cut-off point to predict hypertension and raised fasting blood sugar was 23.7 kg/m², and that for low level high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 22.9 kg/m². For males, the corresponding cut-off points were 86.5-91.0 cm for WC and 20.75-25.5 kg/m² for BMI, with corresponding sensitivities and specificities. Area under the curve and the odds of developing individual and ≥ 2 metabolic risk factors for MS were higher for WC than for BMI.
    CONCLUSION: WC is a better predictor of metabolic risk factors for developing MS than BMI. Therefore, we propose that metabolic risk factors be screened when WC ≥ 80 cm is found in both genders regardless of BMI.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  4. Fulltext Relationship between selenium and breast cancer: a case-control study in the Klang Valley
    Suzana S, Cham BG, Ahmad Rohi G, Mohd Rizal R, Fairulnizal MN, Normah H, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2009 Mar;50(3):265-9.
    PMID: 19352569
    The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between selenium status and intake among breast cancer patients from the Klang Valley.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  5. Fulltext Craniofacial anthropometric norms of Malays
    Ngeow WC, Aljunid ST
    Singapore Med J, 2009 May;50(5):525-8.
    PMID: 19495526
    INTRODUCTION: This study was undertaken to establish the craniofacial anthropometric norms of young adult Malaysian Malays.
    METHODS: The study group consisted of convenient samples of 100 healthy volunteers (aged 18-25 years), with an equal number of female and male subjects who had no history of mixed racial parentage. 22 linear measurements were taken twice from 22 landmarks over six craniofacial regions.
    RESULTS: The Malays shared many similar sizes of measurements with the Singaporean Chinese. Their left eye fissure length and mouth width (ch-ch) were almost identical for both genders. However, Malay females had an upper lip height (sn-sto) (left) and ear width (pra-pa) similar to Singaporean Chinese females. Six other measurements, viz. the head width (eu-eu), head circumference (on-op), face height (n-gn), lower face height (sn-gn), (left) eye fissure height (ps-pi), cutaneous upper lip height (sn-ls) and cutaneous upper lip height (ls-sto), were 0.4-4.3 mm less in the Malays. Measurements for another four parameters, viz. the length of the head (g-op), biocular width (ex-ex), lower vermillion height (sto-li) and (left) ear length (sa-sba), were 0.5-3.6 mm higher in the Malays. Only three measurements were obviously different; the height of the head (v-n) and intercanthal width (en-en), were lower, and the protrusion of the nasal tip (sn-prn) was higher in the Malays.
    CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that three features, i.e. the height of the head (v-n), intercanthal width (en-en) and protrusion of the nasal tip (sn-prn) may be useful in differentiating a Malay face from a Singaporean Chinese one.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  6. Fulltext Penile length of term newborn infants in multiracial Malaysia
    Ting TH, Wu LL
    Singapore Med J, 2009 Aug;50(8):817-21.
    PMID: 19710983
    Micropenis may be an important sign of underlying hypogonadism or pituitary hypofunction in the neonatal period. Penile lengths of normal newborns have been reported in many Western populations. However, the data may not be applicable in the Asian or the multiracial Malaysian population. Our study aimed to establish the normal penile length and testicular volume in term newborn infants in the major ethnic groups in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  7. Fulltext Cardiovascular reactivity in Malay Moslems during Ramadan
    Husain R, Cheah SH, Duncan MT
    Singapore Med J, 1996 Aug;37(4):398-401.
    PMID: 8993142
    The investigation examined the possibility that observance of Ramadan by Moslems in Malaysia is associated with modification of circulatory parameters. Cardiovascular reactivity was investigated employing the cold hand immersion test as the stressor stimulus. Resultant data showed increased blood pressures and vascular resistance during Ramadan in the absence of cold stimulus while the magnitude of the maximal cardiac and vascular response to the applied stressor which served as indicators of reactivity was not affected by the Ramadan situation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  8. Fulltext Usefulness of conventional ultrasonography in identifying normal and abnormal gastric antrum
    George J
    Singapore Med J, 1996 Apr;37(2):181-3.
    PMID: 8942259
    This study evaluates the usefulness of measuring gastric antral thickness on conventional ultrasonography as a means of suggesting gastric antral pathology. Normal and abnormal appearances of the gastric antrum are reviewed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  9. Fulltext Determination of mineral, parathyroid hormone, and 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1 alpha levels in pregnant women with hypertension and pre-eclampsia
    Sulaiman S, Adeeb N, Muslim N, Adeeb N, Ho CM
    Singapore Med J, 1995 Dec;36(6):637-40.
    PMID: 8781637
    Determinations of total calcium, total magnesium, calcium ion, parathyroid hormone and 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1 alpha levels were carried out on 84 blood samples from 4 groups of women categorised as non-pregnant normotensive (NNP), pregnant normotensive (NP), pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and pre-eclampsia (PE). PIH was clinically diagnosed when the diastolic pressure was more than 90 mmHg and was only hypertensive during pregnancy while PE was with additional proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Compared to NNP women, total calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were of lower levels (p < 0.05) in NP women while in PIH women, total calcium and 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1 alpha levels were also lowered (p < 0.05). Compared to NNP women, PE women's levels of total calcium, calcium ion and 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1 alpha decreased (p < 0.05) while parathyroid hormone level increased (p < 0.05). When compared to the NP women, PE women had decreased levels (p < 0.05) of total calcium as well as calcium ion and increased level (p < 0.05) of parathyroid hormone. Calcium ion was found to be negatively correlated (NNP : r = -0.883, p = 0.008/NP : r = -0.931, p = 0.000) while parathyroid hormone was positively correlated (NNP : r = 0.904, p = 0.013/NP : r = 0.913, p = 0.000) with mean arterial pressure.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  10. Fulltext Reference ranges for lymphocyte subsets in a defined Malaysian population
    Dhaliwal JS, Balasubramaniam T, Quek CK, Gill HK, Nasuruddin BA
    Singapore Med J, 1995 Jun;36(3):288-91.
    PMID: 8553095
    The aim of this study was to establish the lymphocyte subset reference ranges in a defined Malaysian population as well as to determine inter-racial differences for these values. Normal blood obtained from 152 subjects (55.9% Malay, 26.3% Chinese and 17.7% Indian) was immunophenotyped. Results obtained (expressed as mean +/- SD %), absolute count (x 10(6) cells/mm3) were as follows: CD3:66.5 +/- 8.6%, 2,066; CD4:33.2 +/- 8.5%, 1,028; CD831.6 +/- 8.9%, 982; CD19:12.0 +/- 0%, 5,374, and CD56+CD16:20.9 +/- 9%, 1,638. There were no significant differences between the percent lymphocyte subsets of the three racial groups. However, the absolute number of CD4 cells and CD19 cells in Chinese was significantly lower (p < 0.05) compared to the Indian and the Indian and Malay groups respectively. Comparison of our results with other reports showed that the percentage of Natural Killer cells in this population is higher than that reported for Caucasian population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  11. Fulltext Normative data for hand grip strength and key pinch strength, stratified by age and gender for a multiethnic Asian population
    Lam NW, Goh HT, Kamaruzzaman SB, Chin AV, Poi PJ, Tan MP
    Singapore Med J, 2016 Oct;57(10):578-584.
    PMID: 26768064 DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2015164
    INTRODUCTION: Hand strength is a good indicator of physical fitness and frailty among the elderly. However, there are no published hand strength references for Malaysians aged > 65 years. This study aimed to establish normative data for hand grip strength (HGS) and key pinch strength (KPS) for Malaysians aged ≥ 60 years, and explore the relationship between hand strength and physical ability.

    METHODS: Healthy participants aged ≥ 60 years with no neurological conditions were recruited from rural and urban locations in Malaysia. HGS and KPS were measured using hand grip and key pinch dynamometers. Basic demographic data, anthropometric measures, modified Barthel Index scores and results of the Functional Reach Test (FRT), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT) were recorded.

    RESULTS: 362 subjects aged 60-93 years were recruited. The men were significantly stronger than the women in both HGS and KPS (p < 0.001). The hand strength of the study cohort was lower than that of elderly Western populations. Significant correlations were observed between hand strength, and residential area (p < 0.001), FRT (r = 0.236, p = 0.028), TUG (r = -0.227, p = 0.009) and JTHFT (r = -0.927, p < 0.001).

    CONCLUSION: This study established reference ranges for the HGS and KPS of rural and urban elderly Malaysian subpopulations. These will aid the use of hand strength as a screening tool for frailty among elderly persons in Malaysia. Future studies are required to determine the modifiable factors for poor hand strength.

    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  12. Fulltext Tympanometric values in young Malay adults: preliminary data
    Wahab NA, Rashid MF
    Singapore Med J, 2009 Nov;50(11):1077-9.
    PMID: 19960163
    INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to obtain preliminary tympanometric data of young Malay adults and to compare the results between genders.
    METHODS: 96 undergraduate students (49 males and 47 females), aged 19-25 (mean and standard deviation 21.14 +/- 1.31) years, participated in this study. Otoscopic examination, pure tone audiometry, qualitative tympanogram and ipsilateral acoustic reflex were measured to ensure a clear ear canal, normal hearing and normal middle ear function, prior to tympanometric measurement. As a result, a total of 154 ears (80 ears from males and 74 ears from females) were selected for further statistical analyses. The tympanometric parameters measured were peak compensated static acoustic admittance (Peak Y(tm)), tympanometric width (TW) and equivalent ear canal volume (V(ea)).
    RESULTS: The results showed that the mean Peak Y(tm), V(ea) and TW for males were 0.81 mmhos, 1.48 cubic cm and 113.67 daPa, respectively. The mean Peak Y(tm), V(ea) and TW for females were 0.63 mmhos, 1.12 cubic cm and 98.04 daPa, respectively. Males were found to have significantly higher mean V(ea) and mean Peak Y(tm) than females. However no significant gender difference was observed in the mean TW.
    CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that young Malay adults may require gender-specific Peak Y(tm) and V(ea) values when implementing a quantitative approach in tympanogram interpretation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  13. Fulltext Bioequivalence evaluation of two different formulations of ciprofloxacin tablets in healthy volunteers
    Hassan Y, Alfadly SO, Azmin MN, Peh KK, Tan TF, Noorizan AA, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2007 Sep;48(9):819-23.
    PMID: 17728962
    A bioequivalence study of two oral formulations of 500 mg tablets of ciprofloxacin (RAZA Pharmaniaga, Malaysia) as test and Ciprobay (Bayer AG, Germany) as reference, was carried out in 24 healthy human volunteers. Each volunteer received a single dose of ciprofloxacin.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  14. Fulltext Intrauterine growth of liveborn Malaysian infants between gestation of 28 to 42 weeks
    Boo NY, Lye MS, Ong LC
    Singapore Med J, 1994 Apr;35(2):163-6.
    PMID: 7939812
    A cross-sectional study was carried out on 8,478 consecutive normal singleton Malaysian neonates born in the Maternity Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. The objectives were to compare the mean birth-weights, crown-heel lengths and head circumferences of Malay, Chinese and Indian infants at gestation age from 28 to 42 weeks, and to construct the Malaysian growth charts. Above the gestation age of 34 weeks, the birthweights were significantly influenced by maternal gravida status (p < 0.03), ethnic origin (p < 0.001) and/or sex of the neonates (p < 0.026). Above this gestation age, neonates of multigravida mothers were significantly heavier than those of primigravida mothers; Indians were significantly lighter than Malays and Chinese; and males were significantly heavier than females. The head circumferences and body lengths of neonates were significantly influenced by ethnic origin, sex and/or maternal gravida status at gestation above 35 and 36 weeks respectively (p < 0.05). It was most likely due to the small sample size which explained our inability to detect statistically significant difference in all measurements (birthweight, length and head circumference) by sex, ethnicity and maternal gravida status at gestation below 35 weeks. Based on the measurements obtained in this study, percentile charts for the Malaysian population were constructed and made available for the first time. These charts will be useful for the assessment of Malaysian neonates during the perinatal period.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  15. Fulltext A validity study of the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire in Malaysian population
    Kasmini K, Kyaw O
    Singapore Med J, 1988 Feb;29(1):48-52.
    PMID: 3406767
    The Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire (MHQ) with its subscales on anxiety, phobia, somatic symptoms, depression and hysteria was devised by Crown and Crisp(1). it has been used to differentiate between neurotic and normal population. The MHQ has been translated into the Malay language and this paper shows the results of an attempt to validate this translated questionnaire in the Malaysian population. The translated questionnaire is found to have useful validity as a whole and also for subscales on anxiety, somatic symptoms and depression.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  16. Fulltext SmartFire: Intelligent Platform for Monitoring Fire Extinguishers and Their Building Environment
    Garcia-Martin R, González-Briones A, Corchado JM
    Sensors (Basel), 2019 May 25;19(10).
    PMID: 31130598 DOI: 10.3390/s19102390
    Due to fire protection regulations, a minimum number of fire extinguishers must be available depending on the surface area of each building, industrial establishment or workplace. There is also a set of rules that establish where the fire extinguisher should be placed: always close to the points that are most likely to be affected by a fire and where they are visible and accessible for use. Fire extinguishers are pressure devices, which means that they require maintenance operations that ensure they will function properly in the case of a fire. The purpose of manual and periodic fire extinguisher checks is to verify that their labeling, installation and condition comply with the standards. Security seals, inscriptions, hose and other seals are thoroughly checked. The state of charge (weight and pressure) of the extinguisher, the bottle of propellant gas (if available), and the state of all mechanical parts (nozzle, valves, hose, etc.) are also checked. To ensure greater safety and reduce the economic costs associated with maintaining fire extinguishers, it is necessary to develop a system that allows monitoring of their status. One of the advantages of monitoring fire extinguishers is that it will be possible to understand what external factors affect them (for example, temperature or humidity) and how they do so. For this reason, this article presents a system of soft agents that monitors the state of the extinguishers, collects a history of the state of the extinguisher and environmental factors and sends notifications if any parameter is not within the range of normal values.The results rendered by the SmartFire prototype indicate that its accuracy in calculating pressure changes is equivalent to that of a specific data acquisition system (DAS). The comparative study of the two curves (SmartFire and DAS) shows that the average error between the two curves is negligible: 8% in low pressure measurements (up to 3 bar) and 0.3% in high pressure (above 3 bar).
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  17. Fulltext Assessment of autosomal and male DNA extracted from casework samples using Casework Direct Kit, Custom and Maxwell 16 System DNA IQ Casework Pro Kit for autosomal-STR and Y-STR profiling
    Hakim HM, Khan HO, Ismail SA, Ayob S, Lalung J, Kofi EA, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2019 10 10;9(1):14558.
    PMID: 31601905 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51154-4
    Short repetitive regions in autosomal and Y chromosomes known as short tandem repeats (STRs) are currently used for DNA profiling in crime investigations. However, DNA profiling requires a sufficient quality and quantity of DNA template, which is often not obtained from trace evidence or degraded biological samples collected at the scene of a crime. Here, we assessed autosomal and male DNA components extracted from crime scene and mock casework samples using the Casework Direct Kit, Custom and compared the results against those obtained by extraction of matching samples using well-established Maxwell 16 System DNA IQ Casework Pro Kit. The quantity and quality of extracted DNA obtained using both Casework Direct Kit, Custom and Maxwell 16 System DNA IQ Casework Pro Kit were analyzed using PowerQuant Systems followed by autosomal and Y-chromosome STR profiling using GlobalFiler Express PCR Amplification Kit and PowerPlex Y23 System, respectively. Our results showed that the Casework Direct Kit and Maxwell 16 DNA IQ Casework Pro Kit have more or less equal capacity to extract inhibitor free DNA, but that the latter produces slightly better quality and more DNA template and subsequently higher numbers of STR allele calls for autosomal and Y-STR analyses. Nonetheless, the Casework Direct Kit, Custom is the quicker and cheaper option for extraction of good, clean DNA from high content material and might best be used for extraction of reference samples. Such reference DNA samples typically come from buccal swabs or freshly drawn blood. So, in general, they can confidently be expected to have a high nucleic acid content and to be inhibitor-free.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  18. Fulltext A phase I single-blind clinical trial to evaluate the safety of oil palm phenolics (OPP) supplementation in healthy volunteers
    Fairus S, Leow SS, Mohamed IN, Tan YA, Sundram K, Sambanthamurthi R
    Sci Rep, 2018 05 29;8(1):8217.
    PMID: 29844318 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26384-7
    Plant phenolics are being increasingly consumed globally with limited scientific and clinical evidence pertaining to safety and efficacy. The oil palm fruit contains a cocktail of phenolics, and palm oil production results in high volumes of aqueous by-products enriched in phenolics and bioactives. Several lines of evidence from in vitro and in vivo animal studies confirmed that the aqueous extract enriched in phenolics and other bioactives collectively known as oil palm phenolics (OPP) is safe and has potent bioactivity. A phase one clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and effects of OPP in healthy volunteers. In this single-blind trial, 25 healthy human volunteers were supplemented with 450 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/day of OPP or control treatments for a 60-day period. Fasting blood and urine samples were collected at days 1, 30 and 60. Medical examination was performed during these trial interventions. All clinical biochemistry profiles observed throughout the control and OPP treatment period were in the normal range with no major adverse effect (AE) or serious adverse effect (SAE) observed. Additionally, OPP supplementation resulted in improvement of total cholesterol and LDL-C levels, compared to the control treatment. The outcomes support our previous observations that OPP is safe and may have a protective role in reducing cholesterol levels.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  19. Fulltext Elements of the complete blood count associated with cardiovascular disease incidence: Findings from the EPIC-NL cohort study
    Lassale C, Curtis A, Abete I, van der Schouw YT, Verschuren WMM, Lu Y, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2018 02 19;8(1):3290.
    PMID: 29459661 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21661-x
    All blood cells (white blood cells [WBC], red blood cells [RBC] and platelets) can play a role in atherosclerosis. Complete blood count (CBC) is widely available in clinical practice but utility as potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is uncertain. Our aim was to assess the associations of pre-diagnostic CBC with incidence of CVD in 14,362 adults free of CVD and aged 47.8 (±11.7) years at baseline, followed-up for 11.4 years (992 incident cases). Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to estimate HRs and 95%CI. Comparing the top (T3) to bottom (T1) tertile, increased total WBC, lymphocyte, monocyte and neutrophil counts were associated with higher CVD risk: 1.31 (1.10; 1.55), 1.20 (1.02; 1.41), 1.21 (1.03; 1.41) and 1.24 (1.05; 1.47), as well as mean corpuscular volume (MCV: 1.23 [1.04; 1.46]) and red cell distribution width (RDW: 1.22 [1.03; 1.44]). Platelets displayed an association for count values above the clinically normal range: 1.49 (1.00; 2.22). To conclude, total and differential WBC count, MCV, RDW and platelet count likely play a role in the aetiology of CVD but only WBC provide a modest improvement for the prediction of 10-year CVD risk over traditional CVD risk factors in a general population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
  20. Heterophilic antibody interference affecting multiple hormone assays: Is it due to rheumatoid factor?
    Mongolu S, Armston AE, Mozley E, Nasruddin A
    Scand J Clin Lab Invest, 2016 May;76(3):240-2.
    PMID: 26924790 DOI: 10.3109/00365513.2016.1143113
    Assay interference with heterophilic antibodies has been well described in literature. Rheumatoid factor is known to cause similar interference leading to falsely elevated hormone levels when measured by immunometric methods like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or multiplex immunoasays (MIA). We report a case of a 60-year-old male patient with a history of rheumatoid arthritis referred to our endocrine clinic for investigation of hypogonadism and was found to have high serum levels of LH, FSH, SHBG, Prolactin, HCG and TSH. We suspected assay interference and further tests were performed. We used Heteroblock tubes and PEG precipitation to eliminate the interference and the hormone levels post treatment were in the normal range. We believe the interference was caused by high serum levels of rheumatoid factor. Although he was treated with thyroxine for 3 years, we believe he may have been treated inappropriately as his Free T4 level was always normal despite high TSH due to assay interference. Our case illustrates the phenomenon of heterophilic antibody interference likely due to high levels of rheumatoid factor. It is essential for clinicians and endocrinologists in particular to be aware of this possibility when making treatment decisions in these groups of patients.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reference Values
Related Terms
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links