Retrospective Audit of the Widal Test for Diagnosis of Typhoid Fever in Pediatric Patients in an Endemic Region
| Autor: | Ralte Lalremruata, Sanjim Chadha, Preena Bhalla |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, Vol 8, Iss 5, Pp DC22-DC25 (2014) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 2249-782X 0973-709X |
| DOI: | 10.7860/JCDR/2014/7819.4373 |
| Popis: | Introduction: Although typhoid fever is confirmed by culture of Salmonella Typhi, Widal test is widely used in India but little information exists about its reliability. Materials and Methods: We examined the performance of Widal test in our hospital for diagnosis of typhoid fever in children. Hundred consecutive pediatric in-patients for whom, the Widal test was requested were grouped into four categories: widal positive and clinically consistent with typhoid fever (Group 1; n=42), widal negative but clinically consistent (Group 2, n=12), widal positive but not clinically consistent (Group 3, n=12) and widal negative and also not clinically consistent (Group 4, n=34). The results were analyzed by the test performance criteria, namely, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) using culture-confirmed typhoid fever cases as the “true positives”. Results: We found that 7/100 patients had culture-proven typhoid fever. Using a cut off ≥ 50 for O agglutinins or ≥100 for H agglutinins, the Widal test gave a sensitivity of 71.43%, specificity of 47.31%, and a positive predictive value of 09.25% and a negative predictive value of 95.65%. Conclusion: The Widal test is an easy, inexpensive and relatively non-invasive but is not reliable in our set up because of a low PPV. There is a need for a more efficient rapid diagnostic test for typhoid fever. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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