Accurate detection and quantification of hormones is critical to proper disease management. Patient hormone levels are determined by the gold standard of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) or biochemical detection using immune assays, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, low aldosterone/renin ratios have been considered as predictive of increased disease severity. Wiegand et al. report how, through use of LC/MS-MS, staff at Cambridge University Hospitals observed reduced aldosterone in a significant cohort of patients with COVID-19. The team applied both LC/MS-MS and immunoassay methods to better describe the disparity between the two methods of aldosterone detection. They reveal an underlying issue with a common clinical immunoassay that may result in false readings for the detection of aldosterone.
Their work demonstrates that there is probably a sizable cohort of patients with COVID-19 for whom reduced aldosterone levels have remained undetected.

Read the full article in Endocrine Connections.