{"id":5707,"date":"2020-03-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lto.local\/news\/new-guideline-addresses-biotin-interference-some-lab-tests\/"},"modified":"2022-09-16T02:29:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T09:29:04","slug":"new-guideline-addresses-biotin-interference-some-lab-tests","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.testing.com\/news\/new-guideline-addresses-biotin-interference-some-lab-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"New Guideline Addresses Biotin Interference in Some Lab Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"

New recommendations from the AACC Academy, published in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine,<\/em> suggest ways to prevent, identify, and deal with biotin interference in some types of laboratory tests.<\/p>\n

Biotin—also known as vitamin B7<\/a>, vitamin H, and coenzyme R—is a nutrient the body requires in very small amounts for turning fat, protein, and carbohydrates from food into energy. Biotin also helps the body to produce hormones. Foods such as meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, and certain vegetables naturally contain biotin. The average daily recommended amount of biotin for healthy adults is 30 micrograms (mcg) per day.<\/p>\n

Some people take supplements containing higher doses of biotin (for example, more than 5,000 mcg) because they believe it will help improve the condition of their hair, nails, and skin. Some patients may be treated with biotin mega-doses of 100,000 mcg or more because new research suggests such doses may be helpful in treating certain medical conditions, such as multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n

Individuals who regularly take more than 5,000 mcg of biotin per day may have an excess amount in their blood, which can interfere with some types of laboratory tests called immunoassays<\/a>. This is because some immunoassays use biotin as part of the reagent mixture in the testing method. Excess biotin in the blood from supplements may cause either falsely increased or falsely decreased results, depending on the test. Inaccurate results may lead healthcare practitioners to misdiagnose patients and\/or prescribe inappropriate treatments. The risk of adverse events due to biotin interference prompted a 2017 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new guideline cites research that shows that the degree of biotin interference depends on the amount of biotin in the blood sample. For individuals who do not take biotin-containing supplements, the amount of biotin that comes from the diet is too low to interfere with bloods tests. Similarly, the amount of biotin from taking over-the-counter multivitamins (doses up to 1,000 mcg) has not been reported to cause interference.<\/p>\n

Research also shows that different manufacturers’ tests that measure the same substance may exhibit different degrees of biotin interference. Some common immunoassays that may be affected include those for:<\/p>\n