EVALUATION OF NEW RAPID OFFICE TEST FOR MICROALBUMINURIA AND ITS COMPARISON TO FULLY QUANTITATIVE RADIOIMMUNOASSAY

A novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA [Dialbumin]) for rapid office measurement of microalbuminuria was evaluated and its performance compared with that of a commercially available radioimmunoassay (double-antibody albumin). Urine samples containing between 0.75 and 1800 μg/ml of albumin were obtained from 31 diabetic patients and assayed by both methods. A comparison of the paired values obtained from the two methods gave a correlation coefficient of >0.99. The Dialbumin assay, which used detachable eight-well strips (1 strip/sample), 10-min incubation, tap water wash, and a 2-min color development step, was read on both an ELISA reader and a hand-held analytical device (Acc-U-Dial) designed specifically for this test. The findings of this study indicate that the Dialbumin assay, used in conjunction with the Acc-U-Dial device, affords a rapid, convenient, and sensitive method for quantitative determination of a broad range (0.3-1280 μg/ml) of urinary albumin levels in the office setting.