HMMA interference?

• A. Banana
• B. Banana and vanilla
• C. Banana, vanilla and tea
• D. Banana, vanilla, tea and coffee

Answer: (D)

HMMA interference involves stray antibodies in the sample (heterophilic antibodies) that can bridge the antibodies used in an immunoassay and give a misleading result. The more potential interfering substances present, the higher the chance that such bridging will occur, altering the assay signal. The option listing banana, vanilla, tea, and coffee includes the broadest set of common dietary components that could contribute to this type of interference, making it the most comprehensive and therefore the best choice. In practice, to mitigate HMMA interference, labs may use blocking reagents, switch to a different assay format or antibody species, or confirm results with an alternative method.