Biotin interference can affect which type of laboratory test?

• A. Immunoassays
• B. Lipid panels
• C. CBC
• D. Kidney function tests

Answer: (A)

Biotin interference happens with tests that rely on biotin-streptavidin binding in immunoassays. When a patient takes high-dose biotin, the excess biotin can bind to streptavidin sites, blocking the proper attachment of the assay’s biotinylated components. This disrupts the formation of the antibody–antigen complex or its signal generation, leading to inaccurate results that can be falsely low or falsely high depending on the assay format. Because this problem targets immunoassays using the biotin–streptavidin system, those tests are the ones affected.

Lipid panels, CBC, and kidney function tests are not typically based on this biotin-streptavidin immunoassay approach, so they’re not subject to the same interference. If biotin use could affect results, labs may recommend pausing high-dose biotin before testing or choosing assays that don’t rely on this binding system.