Comparison of Phadebact coagglutination, Bactogen latex agglutination, and counterimmunoelectrophoresis for detection of Haemophilus influenzae type b antigens in cerebrospinal fluid

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid specimens from patients with suspected meningitis were screened with the Phadebact Haemophilus Test (Pharmacia Diagnostics), with Bactogen (Wampole Laboratories), and by counterimmunoelectrophoresis. With culture-positive fluids, Phadebact coagglutination detected 95%, Bactogen latex agglutination detected 91%, and counterimmunoelectrophoresis detected only 79%. Both agglutination techniques were 25-fold more sensitive than counterimmunoelectrophoresis when tested with dilutions of positive fluids. To obtain specific reactions with the Phadebact reagents it was necessary to heat treat (95 degrees C, 5 min) the fluid; with Bactogen and counterimmunoelectrophoresis this was not necessary.