title: Diagnostic accuracy of two point-of-care kits for the diagnosis of Giardia species infection in dogs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to compare results obtained by ZnSO4 Flotation and SNAP (®) Giardia to those generated by the new point-of-care tests Single and Triple Rapid.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study evaluating 51 canine faecal samples submitted at a reference laboratory for the presence of Giardia spp. Kappa statistics, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated by comparing the new tests to the combined results of ZnSO4 and SNAP tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was fair (Single Rapid, j=0·434) to good (Triple Rapid, j =0·797) agreement with the reference tests. At this study's prevalence (59 to 61%), specificities and PPV were high (1·00) with both Rapid tests, but sensitivities and NPV were lower for the Single than for the Triple (0·48 vs 0·83 and 0·55 vs 0·80) tests. At lower prevalence rates, both tests exhibited a high PPV (1·00), but the NPV were higher with the Triple (0·96 to 0·99) than the Single (0·88 to 0·96) Rapid test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both tests exhibited excellent PPV values at all prevalence rates but an excellent NPV only at low prevalence. As the prevalence is likely to be low (<15%) in clinical settings, we propose that these tests may be helpful in the in-house diagnosis of Giardia spp infection. However, they exhibit lower sensitivity than the combined sensitivity of ZnSO4 and SNAP tests, particularly in high prevalence settings.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratories, Langford Veterinary Services, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, Langford BS405DU.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratories, Langford Veterinary Services, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, Langford BS405DU.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratories, Langford Veterinary Services, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, Langford BS405DU.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Laboratories, Langford Veterinary Services, School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, Langford BS405DU.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papasouliotis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D005872:Giardia; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019287:Zinc Sulfate
chemical_list: D019287:Zinc Sulfate