Clinical usefulness of rapid serodiagnosis in pulmonary tuberculosis by ELISA with glycolipidic antigens extracted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and with whole BCG suspension.

Antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis glycolipids and whole BCG suspension were determined by ELISA on 58 sera from hospitalized patients with presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis and on 127 sera from control subjects. The experimental results demonstrated that the glycolipids are more adequate to be used as antigens than whole BCG suspension, as high sensitivity of the test was obtained. By using only one antigen, ELISA becomes more efficient in rapid diagnosis. ELISA with glycolipidic antigens should be used as a supporting test for direct smear examination in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, especially in cases when repeated bacterial methods failed to prove the presence of M. tuberculosis.