Comparison of Two Rapid Antigen Detection Tests for
Diagnosis of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngotonsillitis

Song, Seung Kyu; Hong, Mi Ae; Oh, Kyung Chang; Ahn, Seung In; Tae, Mi Hyon; Shin, Hye Jung; Chang, Jin Keun; Cha, Sung Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Pediatric Society 2002;45(8):973-979.
Published online August 15, 2002.

Comparison of Two Rapid Antigen Detection Tests for Diagnosis of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngotonsillitis

Seung Kyu Song¹, Mi Ae Hong¹, Kyung Chang Oh¹, Seung In Ahn¹, Mi Hyon Tae¹, Hye Jung Shin¹, Jin Keun Chang¹, Sung Ho Cha²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Hanil General Hospital, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea

A군 연쇄구균성 인두편도염 진단을 위한 두 종류 신속항원검사법의 비교

송승규^¹^, 홍미애^¹^, 오경창^¹^, 안승인^¹^, 태미현^¹^, 신혜정^¹^, 장진근^¹^, 차성호^²

^¹한일병원 소아과
^²경희대학교 의과대학 소아과학교실

Correspondence:
Jin Keun Chang, Email: atomjin@kepco.co.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: Recently, a number of rapid antigen detection tests have been available to diagnose group A streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity and consistency of the two rapid antigen detection tests.
Methods
: Among the patients who visited our clinic from November 2001 to February 2002, 61 patients who had clinical findings of pharyngeal erythema or edema, pharyngeal exudates and soft palatine petechiae were enrolled in our study. A total of 61 patients were tested with rapid antigen detection tests and throat culture. BD LINK2TM Strep A(Becton, Dickinson & Company, U.S.A.) and QuickVue In-LineTM(Quidel Corporation, U.S.A.) were selected for rapid antigen detection tests.
Results
: Of the 61 patients tested, 22 patients were confirmed as group A streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis by throat culture. The BD LINK2TM Strep A had a sensitivity of 81.8% and a specificity 89.7%. The positive and negative predictive values were 81.8% and 89.7%, respectively. The QuickVue In-LineTM had a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 100%. The positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 88.6%, respectively. The kappa values of BD LINK2TM Strep A and QuickVue In-LineTM were 0.72 and 0.81, respectively.
Conclusion
: In addition to high sensitivity, specificity and consistency, both kits are easy to use and simple to interpret, and therefore have the potential to be used with backup throat culture for diagnosis of acute pharyngotonsillitis.

Key Words: Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus, Acute pharyngotonsillitis, Rapid antigen detection tests