Serum protein electrophoresis: Study of 410 electrophoretic profiles

Abstract

Serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) is a routine analysis in the daily practice of a medical biology laboratory. This study aimed to analyze the different electrophoretic profiles seen in our current practice. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 410 serum samples collected during the routine analyses in the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the University Hospital Mohammed VI in Oujda. Serum protein electrophoresis was performed using automated instrument CAPILLARYS 2 FLEX-PIERCING, SEBIA. 241 sera from women and 169 sera from men were collected. Patients were aged between 1-91 years, with an average age of 49 years; 19.5% of SPEs were normal, hypoalbuminemia was found in 34% of cases, chronic inflammatory syndrome in 19.5% of cases, nephrotic syndrome in 2% of cases, 5.8% of our patients had betagamma block, hypogammaglobulinemia was found in 8.5% of cases and 29 monoclonal peaks were noted, bisalbuminemia was found in 2 patients. Out of 410 collections: 92 immunofixations were performed, of whom 23 were positive (showing monoclonal gammopathy). This study highlights the variability in prescribing serum protein electrophoresis as well as the importance of clinical data for a better interpretation.