Multilaboratory comparison of three immunodiffusion methods used for the detection of precipitating antibodies in hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Abstract

Abstract The presence of precipitating antibodies in the serum of patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis is often used to determine the etiologic agent of the disease or to confirm a tentative diagnosis. Three variations of the Ouchterlony double-diffusion technique are commonly used to determine the presence of antibodies. However, the reproducibility of each method has never been tested with fungal antigens. Hence, a double-blind study was undertaken to determine the reproducibility of each method in three different laboratories. The results indicated that the gel template method and the microscope slide micro-Ouchterlony method were comparable in reproducibility and both were superior to the counterimmunoelectrophoresis method (CEP).