Evaluation of a Novel Anti-H. pylori Antibody Detection Kit by Latex Turbidimetric Immunoassay

Abstract

Background: While all modalities used for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) have demonstrated sufficient sensitivity and specificity, each test has advantages and limitations. The serum test for anti-H. pylori antibody with the latex method is noninvasive, easy, and inexpensive; it is thus a useful tool for mass-screening for H. pylori. In this study, we evaluated the utility of a newly developed latex kit, in comparison with other serum diagnostic kits based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Methods: In total, 187 subjects (77: H. pylori-positive, 75: H. pylori-negative, 35: previous infection with H. pylori) seen at Oita University Hospital during the period from January 1988 to September 2014 were enrolled in the study. All subjects were evaluated with 4 types of serum H. pylori antibody kits. One modality was based on the use of latex (Denka Kit, Denka Seiken Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Three kits were based on the use of ELISA. The E-Plate II Eiken (Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) is henceforth referred to as Kit A. The Premier H. pylori kit (Meridian Bioscience, Inc., USA) is referred to as Kit B. The Platelia H. pylori IgG (Bio-Rad, Marnes-la-Coquette, France) is referred to as Kit C.

Results: Evaluation of 152 study participants, including some who were positive for H. pylori and some who were negative, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values were as follows: for the Denka kit, these values were, respec-tively, 92.2%, 93.3%, and 92.8%. For Kit A, these values were 88.3%, 100.0%, and 194.1%. For Kit B, these values were 98.7%, 76.0%, and 87.5%. For Kit C, these values were 98.7%, 80.0%, and 89.5%. The specificity of Kit A was > 90%. Sensitivity was > 90% for Kits B and C. For the Denka kit, both sensitivity and specificity were > 90%. Among the 35 subjects previously infected with H. pylori, the rate of positive diagnosis was 48.6% (17/35) with the Denka kit, 17.1% (6/35) with Kit A, 54.3% (19/35) with Kit B, and 54.3% (19/35) with Kit C. The rate of positive diagnosis was significantly higher with the Denka kit than with Kit A (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: An assay based on use of the latex method, H. pylori-latex Seiken, demonstrated satisfactory sensitivity and specificity for detecting serum levels of H. pylori antibody. The performance of this kit was equivalent to that of ELISA kits currently used for the same purpose. This kit is therefore considered to be extremely suitable for diagnosis of H. pylori and mass-screening of patients at high risk for gastric cancer.