title: Evaluation of Specificity and Sensitivity of Oral Fluid for Diagnosis of Hepatitis B.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis B viral infection is a global health issue. Various screening and confirmatory serological tests have evolved in the past few decades for detection of hepatitis B. However, oral fluid as an alternative to blood could provide substantial advantages. The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of oral fluid in detecting hepatitis B surface antigen using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Salivary and blood samples were collected from 40 seropositive and 40 seronegative patients of hepatitis B viral infection and were subjected to ELISA test for hepatitis B surface antigen. Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the statistical significance and Kappa (K) statistic was used to assess the degree of agreement between serum and oral fluid samples. The p-value <0.05 was considered as significant value.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A sensitivity and specificity of 100% of oral fluid assay was obtained for the diagnosis of hepatitis B infection. The degree of agreement between saliva and serum for detection of hepatitis B was found to be perfect (Kappa value =1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral fluid testing can be an interesting, alternative for hepatitis B infection for diagnosis and screening for epidemiological purposes. Further research necessitates for the implementation of saliva as a diagnostic tool.
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Oral Pathology, Maharaja Ganga Singh Dental College & Research Centre , Sriganganagar, India .
authors.forename: Smita V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Khadse
authors.affiliation: PG Student, Department of Oral Pathology, Shree Bankey Bihari Dental College & Research Centre , Ghaziabad, India .
authors.forename: Gunjan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bajaj
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Oral Pathology, Terna Dental College , Navi Mumbai, Maharastra, India .
authors.forename: Pavitra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vibhakar
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, RKDF Dental College and Research Centre Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Purshotam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nainani
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, People's College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre , Bhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India .
authors.forename: Rinky
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahuja
authors.affiliation: Private Practitioner, SGRD Institute of Dental Sciences , Amritsar, India .
authors.forename: Gagan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deep
keywords: ELISA; Non-invasive; Saliva; Viral hepatitis