[A simple ELISA method for the detection of HBsAg: Organon Teknika HBsAg Uniform II screening and confirmation test. Comparative study using the HBsAg Hapanostika method. A multicenter study]

Abstract

An one-step enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent method, named as HBsAg Uniform II has been described for the detection of serum HBsAg, and a comparison was made with a widely used ELISA technique HBsAg Hepanostika test, to evaluate sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the method. A total of 531 serum samples from patients with liver disease and with renal failure, as well as 1065 samples from blood donors have been investigated. While the sensitivity of Uniform II vs. Hepanostika was 99.5% vs. 72.7%, the specificity was 99.2% of both methods. The positive predictive values did not differ (99.5% vs. 99.2%), however, the negative predictive values were 99.2% vs. 71.7%, respectively, in favour of Uniform II test. The Uniform II confirmatory test confirmed the positive HBsAg results in 94%, this rate was 74% using Hepanostika system. The new method proved to be a simple, quick, reliable test, which can be useful as a valuable tool in both the clinical diagnosis and blood donor screening.