title: Clinical advantages from measurement of IgM-rheumatoid factor by enzyme immunoassay.
abstract: Two enzyme immunoassays for rheumatoid factor (RF) were compared with the traditional latex agglutination test. Preference is expressed for an ELISA specific for IgM-RF because it yields specific, quantitative results. Variability of this assay was least in sera containing moderate levels of RF and it was less precise at low concentrations. Survey of a random selection from the local population showed a similar prevalence of IgM-RF positivity as revealed by previous surveys using agglutination techniques. We conclude that measurement by ELISA yields no great increase in the discriminative ability of RF testing.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor