The use of rheumatoid factors in clinical practice

'Farmer's ear': sudden sensorineural hearing loss due to Chlamydia psittaci infection

A case of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in association with a Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia is reported. Rapid recovery was seen when the patient was treated with high dose steroids and appropriate antibiotics. This is the first such case report in the literature.

Misleading results from immunoassays of serum free thyroxine in the presence of rheumatoid factor

A novel interference with measurements of serum free thyroxine (FT4) caused by rheumatoid factor (RhF) is described. We found misleading, sometimes gross, increases of FT4 results in 5 clinically euthyroid elderly female patients with high RhF concentrations. All 5 patients had high FT4 on Abbott AxSYM® or IMx® analyzers. “NETRIA” immunoassays gave misleading results in 4 of the 5 patients; Amerlex-MAB® in 2 of 4 patients; AutoDELFIA®in 2 of the 5; and Corning ACS-180® and Bayer Diagnostics Immuno 1® in 1 of the 5. BM-ES700® system results for FT4 in these women remained within the reference range. Results for serum T4, thyroid-stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine, thyroid-hormone-binding globulin, and FT4 measured by equilibrium dialysis were normal in all 5 patients. Drugs, albumin-binding variants, and anti-thyroid-hormone antibodies were excluded as interferences. Addition to normal serum of the RhF isolated from each of the 5 patients increased the apparent FT4 (Abbott AxSYM). Screening of 83 unselected patients demonstrated a highly significant positive correlation between FT4 (Abbott AxSYM) and RhF concentrations. Discrepant, apparently increased FT4 with a normal result for thyroid-stimulating hormone should lead to measurement of the patient’s RhF concentration.