Performance of an immunoenzymatic assay for Cryptosporidium diagnosis of fecal samples

Braz J Infect Dis. 2005 Feb;9(1):3-5. doi: 10.1590/s1413-86702005000100002. Epub 2005 Jun 6.

Abstract

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of a Cryptosporidium immunoenzymatic assay (ELISA). Fecal samples were collected from 94 HIV-seropositive patients. All specimens were processed with a commercially-available ELISA to detect C. parvum specific coproantigen and with a modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain (ZNm) microscope exam. Overall, sensitivity of the immunoenzymatic test was 100%, with a specificity of 96%; positive and negative predictive values were 89% and 100%, respectively. The commercial ELISA and ZNm proved to be valuable diagnostic tools for Cryptosporidium infection.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / diagnosis
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / parasitology*
  • Animals
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cryptosporidiosis / diagnosis*
  • Cryptosporidium / immunology
  • Cryptosporidium / isolation & purification
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / standards*
  • Feces / parasitology*
  • Humans
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity