Peroxidase antibody test for mucocutaneous leishmaniasis serology performance indexes and comparison with a fluorescent antibody test: Comparação com o desempenho da reação de imunofluorescência

Performance indexes of the peroxidase antibody test were compared to that of the fluorescent antibody test. The peroxidase antibody test had a statistically higher sensitivity and negative predictive value and a higher efficiency than the fluorescent antibody test but its specificity and positive pr...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
Main Authors: Beatriz J. Celeste, M. Carolina S. Guimarães, Edelma Maria Corrales L.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1988
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651988000600004
https://doaj.org/article/1fe36855a8c84fecb3677666027f8881
Description
Summary:Performance indexes of the peroxidase antibody test were compared to that of the fluorescent antibody test. The peroxidase antibody test had a statistically higher sensitivity and negative predictive value and a higher efficiency than the fluorescent antibody test but its specificity and positive predictive value were within the 95% confidence limits for the values found for the fluorescent antibody test. Such differences did not change when Chagas' disease and visceral leishmaniasis sera were included in index calculations. Statistical analysis showed that the two tests have a substantial degree of agreement but the immunofluorescent test had a specificity index and a positive predictive value equal to 100.0% when Chagas' disease and visceral leishmaniasis sera were not included in the calculations of the performance index; in this instance, a positive test result equals a disclosure of the disease attribute due to the inexistence of false positive results. The enzyme/ protein ratio of the peroxidase conjugate, resulting in heavy or light-labeled conjugates may pose technical problems to its use in serology tests.