Performance of a rapid strip test for the serologic diagnosis of XXXX in @entity1 .

@entity1 @entity9178 @entity378
BACKGROUND: The serodiagnostic tests for @entity378 ( @entity378 ) present a high variability in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Data on @entity1 with @entity9178 ( @entity9178 ) and @entity1 in high prevalence settings are still limited. The present study aimed to evaluate an in-house strip test for detection of anti-M. @entity378 antibodies in @entity378 @entity1 , mostly @entity1 aged under 15 y, grouped into four diagnostic categories: active @entity378 , @entity9178 , healthy @entity378 contacts, and other @entity378 . MATERIALS AND METHODS: The diagnostic performance of strip test was compared with the tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Sensitivity and specificity were assessed for all three diagnostic tests. The detection accuracy among the tests was calculated by using a receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS: TST and IGRA could diagnose the active @entity378 cases correctly (100%). The sensitivity of strip test for active @entity378 was 58.3% and 37.5% for @entity9178 , while the sensitivities of TST and IGRA for @entity9178 were 90.3% and 37.5%, respectively. The overall specificities of strip test and IGRA were 91.5% and 95.7%, respectively, which were superior to that of TST (68.1%). CONCLUSION: The strip test did not appear to be useful for diagnosis of active @entity378 in comparison with the current diagnostic standard. The assay may be particularly significant in situations where @entity378 is clinically difficult to diagnose like @entity9178 and could be a meaningful tool in terms of high specificity and simplicity for ruling in pediatric @entity378 in countries with high @entity378 rate. Further studies are needed to determine whether strip test can be improved in its sensitivity and should be implemented into routine clinical practice.
