Adenoviral conjunctivitis (Ad-CS), also known as “pink eye,” is one of the most common eye infections worldwide. Diagnosis of viral infection can be achieved by virus isolation, antigen detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serology, but in adenoviral eye infection rapid and accurate diagnosis is very important, as adenoviruses are resistant to physical and chemical factors and they can spread easily. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of direct fluorescent assay (DFA) and immunochromatography (IC) test as a tool for rapid diagnosis of adenovirus conjunctivitis in comparison with cell culture technique. Overall, 100 patients with viral conjunctivitis with or without upper respiratory tract infections were included in this study. Conjunctival and throat swabs were examined by cell culture, DFA and IC test. In this study, out of 100 patients diagnosed clinically as viral conjunctivitis, 50 (50%), 50 (50%) and 55 (55%) gave positive results for adenovirus with cell culture, IC and DFA respectively.the results revealed that out of 50 cases diagnosed as adenoviral conjunctivitis by cell culture, 35(70.0%), 40 (80%) cases were also positive by IC and DFA respectively. The degree of agreement between cell culture and IC tests was 70% while it was 80% between cell culture and DFA. Positive predictive value (PPV), Negative predictive value (NPV), Sensitivity and Specificity of IC were 70% as compared to DFA 72.7%, 77.8%,80%,70% respectively. The cell culture method is important in adenoviral eye infections but cannot provide rapid diagnosis. The combination of cell culture and DFA constitutes the best set of tests used for diagnosis of clinically suspected cases of viral keratoconjunctivitis.IC test is more rapid and easier to perform therfore it is useful in rapid diagnosis of adenoviarl conjunctivitis. |
