Heterophile antibodies can interfere with the troponin I assay, leading to a false positive result and potentially unnecessary coronary angiography.
Case Report (n=1)
Heterophile antibodies can cause false positive elevations in cardiac troponin I assays, which can be identified by testing with alternative assays like troponin T.
A 53-year-old woman was admitted with non-exertional chest pain and elevated cardiac troponin I (cTnI) without dynamic changes of ischaemia on the ECG. She had recently undergone coronary angiography which had shown normal coronary vessels. Repeat angiography on this admission was again unremarkable. Samples of blood were sent for analysis using different troponin assays and demonstrated chronic basal elevation of cTnI while simultaneous assay for troponin T (cTnT) remained normal. Subsequent testing revealed the presence of heterophile antibodies interfering with the troponin I assay leading to a false positive result.
Zaidi et al. (Fri,) conducted a case report in False positive cardiac troponin elevation (n=1). Different troponin assays was evaluated on Presence of heterophile antibodies. Heterophile antibodies can interfere with the troponin I assay, leading to a false positive result and potentially unnecessary coronary angiography.