Background: Anti-dsDNA antibody is a specific antibody in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) is a highly specific method in detecting anti-dsDNA antibody. The application of automated system has gained better consistency than manual operation. This study detected anti-dsDNA antibodies using EUROPattern Computer-aided immunofluorescence microscopy (EPA), and evaluated the performance of the automated system.
Methods: The sera of 96 patients with suspected SLE and 102 control patients were examined using IIFT. The consistency between the EPA and manual reading was analyzed.
Results: Analysis of 198 samples showed that the overall consistency of the negative/positive results between the EPA and manual reading was 94.95%. Based on the manual reading results, the sensitivity and specificity of EPA were 95.70% and 94.29%, respectively. The analysis of 57 samples with non-specific fluorescence showed that the overall consistency of the negative/positive results was 96.49%. The analysis of the antibody titer of 89 positive samples showed that the consistency between the EPA and manual reading was 97.75%.
Conclusion: EPA was consistent with the manual reading with regard to qualitative reading and antibody titer. With low-exposure function, EPA could read samples with non-specific fluorescence. EPA was superior to manual reading in automation and standardization.
Keywords: Computer-aided immunofluorescence microscopy; EUROPattern suite; Indirect immunofluorescence test; dsDNA.
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