Automated Soluble Fibrin Assays Evaluated

The soluble fibrin monomer (sFM) assay has the potential to be used both as an aid in the diagnosis of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and as a thrombotic marker.

The sFM test differs from the D-dimer (Ddi) assay in that it detects a much earlier produced fragment produced only by thrombin action on fibrinogen, whereas Ddi is a much later produced fragment formed by plasmin cleavage of cross-linked fibrin.

Scientists at the Karolinska University Hospital (Solna, Sweden) compared two commercially available automated sFM assays in the routine hospital setting using samples obtained from the general hospital ward and the emergency room. The results obtained with the two automated assays were compared with each other and with the results obtained using the routine semiquantitative hemagglutination assay.

The study showed that both automated assays, the LIAtest sFM assay (Diagnostica Stago; Genevilliers, France) and the LPIA-Iatro SF assay (Mitsubishi Kagaku Bio-Clinical Laboratories; Tokyo, Japan) were analogous with each other. No patient sample previously classified as positive would be missed, but with the higher sensitivity in the automated tests, more samples are positive.

The authors concluded that both automated tests are suitable for routine laboratory use. Both assays had the advantage over the hemagglutination assay in that previously frozen samples could be used, and the assays are easier and quicker to perform. The LIA sFM Stago has slightly better sensitivity but has a tendency to lower specificity than the Iatro SF test. The study was published in the December 2103 issue of the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.

Related Links:
Karolinska University Hospital
Diagnostica Stago 
Mitsubishi Kagaku Bio-Clinical Laboratories