title: The immunoserological diagnosis of tuberculosis: a comparison of two tests.
abstract: A comparative study of the diagnostic value of the ICT-TB test and the TB-Dot test, based on laboratory examination, was carried out in 39 patients suffering from sputum positive pulmonary tuberculosis (25 males and 14 females, aged 16-50 years) and in 48 patients (27 males and 21 females, aged 17-55 years) suffering from non-tuberculosis pulmonary diseases, that had attended the Tembagapura Hospital and the TB Control Health Center Timika-Mimika, Papua. The diagnostic sensitivity of the ICT-TB test was 87.18%, the diagnostic specificity was 81.25%, the diagnostic positive predictive value was 79.07%, the negative predictive value was 88.64%, and the diagnostic efficiency was 83.91%. The diagnostic sensitivity of the TB-Dot test was 93.31%, the diagnostic specificity was 95.83%, the diagnostic positive predictive value was 94.74%, the negative predictive value was 93.85%, and the diagnostic efficiency was 94.25%. The results of the statistical analysis of the data obtained in this study revealed that the diagnostic specificity, the diagnostic positive predictive value and the diagnostic efficiency of the TB-Dot test were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the ICT-TB test. However, the diagnostic sensitivity and the negative predictive value of both tests did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). Viewed from the point of their practicability, it can be justified that the ICT-TB test is a very practicable test, which needs only 15 minutes and does not require special instruments to perform the test, but is more expensive than the TB-Dot test. On the other hand, though the TB-Dot test is not very practicable and relatively time consuming, it has a significantly higher degree of diagnostic value and is much cheaper when compared to the ICT-TB test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University/Dr Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. inwk@sby.dnet.id
authors.forename: Indro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Handojo
authors.forename: M Zainal
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Arifin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000379:methods*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology