Comparison of a point-of-care serum amyloid A analyzer frequently used in equine practice with 2 turbidimetric immunoassays used in human and veterinary medicine.

Rapid, accurate detection of serum amyloid A (SAA) is needed in equine practice. We validated a patient-side point-of-care (POC) assay (Stablelab; Zoetis) compared to the turbidimetric immunoassays LZ-SAA (TIA-Hum) and VET-SAA (TIA-Vet; both Eiken Chemical). Analytical performance was assessed at 3 different concentration ranges and with interferences. Inter-method comparison using 49 equine serum samples revealed a significant difference between median SAA results (p  3,000 mg/L for the POC assay. Equine serum SAA was stable over a median period of 2.5 y when stored at -80°C. Overall, there was excellent-to-moderate correlation between tests, but imprecision and hook effect of the POC, as well as bias between the methods, must be considered.