Variations in assay protocol for the Dako cystatin C method may change patient results by 50% without changing the results for controls

Background: Cystatin C is increasingly used as a glomerular filtration marker, but so far only a few companies produce most of the cystatin C reagents suited for turbidimetry or nephelometry use in clinical laboratories. Methods: We studied different protocols for measuring cystatin C on an Architect 68200 system using cystatin C reagents from Dako (Glostrup, Denmark). The results were compared with those obtained with Dade Behring reagents (Deerfield, IL, USA) on a BN ProSpec system. Results: Differences in assay protocol on the same instrument with the Dako reagent yielded an up to 50% difference in glomerular filtration rate calculated from the cystatin C results when analyzing patient samples, but had no effect on the results for controls. There were also significant differences regarding linearity and kinetics between samples and controls/calibrators. Conclusions: The results indicate different reactivity of the Dako antibodies against calibrators and controls in comparison with patient samples, highlighting the importance of using controls and calibrators that do not differ from patient samples.