Evaluation of the IFCC-recommended procedure for serum aspartate aminotransferase as modified for use with the centrifugal analyzer.

The IFCC-recommended procedure for aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) was adapted to the centrifugal analyzer and evaluated during five years. The main hindrance to widespread use of the recommended method is the need for pre-incubation with pyridoxal phosphate. The present method includes a 10-min pre-incubation with pyridoxal phosphate. Extensive evaluation of the method with and without this pre-incubation confirms earlier reports that it eliminates some significant errors, especially for samples from patients with cardiac disease. However, the pre-incubation can be briefer than the recommended 10 min and still provide acceptable results.