Are current rapid detection tests for Group A Streptococci sensitive enough? Evaluation of 2 commercial kits
Author
Summary, in English
A new, 1-step, enzyme-linked immunoassay kit for detection of Group A Streptococci (GAS) in throat samples (QuickVue In-Line One-Step Strep A Test; Quidel Corporation, San Diego, CA) was evaluated for use in a study comprising 536 patients in 8 primary healthcare centres. Compared to conventional culture at the clinical microbiology laboratory, the sensitivity achieved was 73.9% and the specificity 86.8%; these figures were not affected to any major extent by broth enrichment of samples before culturing or following PCR testing of the cysteine proteinase gene for independent diagnosis of GAS. It was also found that most samples containing low numbers of GAS were missed by the rapid test. We therefore evaluated the kit in use in our area (TestPack Plus Strep A Test; Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL) in a separate study of 615 patients. Somewhat increased sensitivity (82.8%) and specificity (96.1%) were obtained. As current antigen tests depend on subjective judgement of test outcome, improvements in test design or provision of more detailed instructions may be desirable in order to achieve optimal results.
Publishing year
2002
Language
English
Pages
797-799
Publication/Series
Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume
34
Issue
11
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Informa Healthcare
Topic
- Infectious Medicine
Status
Published
Research group
- Family Medicine and Community Medicine
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1651-1980