Use of a new assay in a study of serum alkaline phosphatase levels in 2000 hospital patients.

BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED interest in serum alkaline phosphatase in recent years (1-4) and the ever-increasing demands on the clinical laboratory, there is a need for a simple, rapid, semiquantitative test for alkaline phosphatase. Such a test would allow the analyst to select only the abnormal samples for quantitative analysis and at the same time would indicate the proper dilution and serve as a control for these assays. Furthermore, since many more tests could be performed, a greater percentage of patients with elevated alkaline phosphatase activity would be detected. The use of a commercial reagent tablett designed to meet this need is discussed in this paper. The purpose of the study reported in this article was twofold. In the first place, the validity of the reagent when used semiquantitatively was to be tested. Secondly, a 5-mo. study was undertaken to determine what percentage of the alkaline phosphatase assays recuested at Morristown Memorial Hospital yielded normal values. In addition, it was thought desirable to determine how many patients for whom no assay was requested had unsuspected abnormal levels.