title: Evaluation of serodiagnostic tests for visceral larva migrans.
abstract: Four serologic techniques for the diagnosis of visceral larva migrans caused by Toxocara canis, namely indirect hemagglutination (IHA), bentonite flocculation (BF), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and double diffusion in agar (Ouchterlony), were evaluated using sera sent to the Center for Disease Control from patients with a presumptive diagnosis of visceral larva migrans (VLM). Patients having 5-6 of the clinical or laboratory criteria for VLM were designated as cases while those with 0-2 criteria served as controls. The sensitivity of the ELISA was 78.3% compared to 18.2%, 25.8% and 65.2% for the IHA, BF, and Ouchterlony, respectively; the sepcificity of all four tests was greater than 92%. The predivtive value of positive test was greater than 85% for all tests except the IHA, while the predictive value of a negative test was greater than 85% only for the ELISA. The results of a ELISA were reproducible in different laboratories. Based on these findings, the ELISA using a larval antigen appears to be the serodiagnostic method of choice for VLM.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001546:Bentonite; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005428:Flocculation Tests; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006801:Humans; D005779:Immunodiffusion; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007816:Larva Migrans, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D001546:Bentonite