Hospital laboratories are using the Roche enzymatic creatinine assay to ensure more reliable results in the management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD)1.
The Roche Creatinine Plus enzymatic creatinine assay, for use with cobas or Modular Analytics analysers, offers a specific and accurate alternative to the less specific Jaffe method.
Users at Guys, St Thomas', Serco (GSTS) Pathology, London, and the University Hospital, Coventry, among others, are said to have found that the assay provides a more accurate assessment of renal function.
Supporting a large renal unit, the biochemistry department at GSTS Pathology, London, performs more than 30,000 creatinine tests every month.
It has been using the enzymatic Roche Creatinine Plus assay first line for the last three years.
'We found the enzymatic test to be more reliable and less prone to interference,' said Kim Brown, senior biomedical scientist.
'This has resulted in a reduction in discrepant results, which means that fewer patients are required to be re-bled.
'Accuracy is extremely important in monitoring pre- and post-transplant patients, since consultants may need to act on a slight change in eGFR.
'The accurate Creatinine Plus assay ensures that fewer patients are required to undergo unnecessary invasive procedures,' she added.
Dr Steve Smith, service director of the clinical biochemistry and immunology department in Coventry, has been using the Roche Creatinine Plus assay first line for the last two years.
Performing around 36,000 creatinine tests every month, he prefers to use a more specific IDMS standardised method.
'The Creatinine plus assay enabled us to use the newer MDRD eGFR equation directly since this was generated using the Roche enzymatic assay,' said Smith.
'Creatinine Plus is easier to handle on our Roche Modular platform than our previous method.
'Also, being more specific, we get a more accurate picture of a patient's creatinine level, particularly at lower levels where non-creatinine chromogens interfere disproportionately with the older Jaffe assay.
'This is particularly important since we receive a large number of samples from both paediatric and renal patients, for whom there can be significant interference using Jaffe methods,' he added.
By providing more accurate results, the Roche Creatinine Plus assay helps to improve patient care and offers a cost-effective alternative to less specific methods.
