Effect of albumin on serum digoxin radioimmunoassays.

The use of certain commerically available radioimmunoassay kits for measurement of digoxin results in errors in the determined digoxin concentration of patients when these kits are used according to manufacturers' directions. One factor that is, in part, responsible for these errors is a difference between standards and samples with respect to albumin concentration. Three of the four kits investigated showed a significant inverse relationship between the albumin concentration in the sample and the binding of radiolabeled digoxin by its antibody when the albumin concentration was varied over an extended range. It is apparent, however, that differences in albumin concentration do not completely explain the observed variations in the assay values.