Agreement between factor XIII activity and antigen assays in measurement of factor XIII: A French multicenter study of 147 human plasma samples.

Introduction: Factor XIII (FXIII) deficiency is a rare hemorrhagic disorder whose early diagnosis is crucial for appropriate treatment and prophylactic supplementation in cases of severe deficiency. International guidelines recommend a quantitative FXIII activity assay as first-line screening test. FXIII antigen measurement may be performed to establish the subtype of FXIII deficiency (FXIIID) when activity is decreased.

Methods: The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the analytical and diagnostic levels of performance of a new latex immunoassay, K-Assay FXIII reagent from Stago, for first-line measurement of FXIII antigen. Results were compared to those obtained with the Berichrom FXIII chromogenic assay for measurement of FXIII activity. Of the 147 patient plasma samples, 138 were selected for analysis.

Results: The accuracy was very good, with intercenter reproducibility close to 7%. Five groups were defined on FXIII activity level (<5% (n = 5), 5%-30% (n = 23), 30%-60% (n = 17), 60%-120% (n = 69), above 120% (n = 24)), without statistical differences between activity and antigen levels (P value >0.05). Correlation of the K-Assay with the Berichrom FXIII activity results was excellent (r = 0.919). Good agreement was established by the Bland and Altman method, with a bias of +9.4% on all samples, and of -1.4% for FXIII levels lower than 30%. One patient with afibrinogenemia showed low levels of Berichrom FXIII activity but normal antigen level and clot solubility as expected.

Conclusions: The measurement of FXIII antigen using the K-Assay is a reliable first-line tool for detection of FXIII deficiency when an activity assay is not available.