Background: Campylobacter is a major cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in many industrialized and developing countries. The majority (approximately 90%) of cases of campylobacter gastroenteritis in humans is caused by Campylobacter jejuni, and most of the remainder is caused by Campylobacter coli(C. coli).
The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of campylobacter antigen(Ag) detection by enzyme immunne assay using Premier™ Campy assay and ImmunoCard STAT, in comparison to conventional culture for detection of Campylobacter in pediatric stool specimens in cases of gastroenteritis.
Patients and Methods: A total of 80 stool specimens were collected from pediatric patients attending the Pediatric outpatient clinic and Pediatric Department of Benha University Hospital. All patients were complaining of diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. Stool samples were cultured on modified charcoal cefoperazol dextrose agar (mCCDA) and were examined for Ag detection by ELISA using Premier Campy assay and lateral flow ImmunoCard STAT.
Results: The sensitivities of these tests were 100% and 88.9%. The specificities were 97% and 95.5%. The positive predictive values (PPVs) were 81.9% and 72.7%. The negative predictive values (NPVs) were 100% and 98.5% respectively.
Conclusion: These results showed that Premier Campy assay and ImmunoCard STAT are convenient methods with short turnaround times for final test results; they provide rapid and reliable alternatives for conventional culture in the laboratory diagnosis of campylobacter enteric infections.
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