Assessment of chemiluminescence and PCR effectiveness in relation to conventional serological tests for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 385 - 387
• Main Authors: Duarte, Aulísia Maria Vieira, de Andrade, Hélida Monteiro, do Monte, Semíramis Jamil Hadad, de Toledo, Vicente de Paulo Coelho Peixoto, Guimarães, Tânia Mara Pinto Dabés
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 01.07.2006; Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Chagas Disease - diagnosis; Child; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; Hemagglutination Tests; Humans; Luminescent Measurements; Male; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Serologic Tests - methods; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Trypanosoma cruzi - genetics; Trypanosoma cruzi - immunology; Quimioluminescência; Diagnóstico; Serology; Chemiluminescence; Chagas' disease; Diagnosis; Sorologia; Doença de Chagas; PCR
• ISSN: 0037-8682; 1678-9849; 1678-9849; 0037-8682
• DOI: 10.1590/S0037-86822006000400014

While testing 414 sera for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease, the conventional reactions of indirect hemagglutination, indirect immunofluorescence and the immunosorbent assay showed a sensitivity of 95.7%, 100% and 98.2% and a specificity of 98%, 98% and 96.4%, respectively, and an excellent association using Fisher's exact test. Chemiluminescence presented 100% sensitivity and 89.6% specificity, while PCR showed 100% specificity and 1.2% sensitivity. It is believed that the three conventional serological reactions are still adequate for diagnosing Chagas' disease.