PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Seigo Kitada
AU  - Adrah Levin
AU  - Melissa Hiserote
AU  - Ron J. Harbeck
AU  - Chris A. Czaja
AU  - Gwen Huitt
AU  - Shannon H. Kasperbauer
AU  - Charles L. Daley
TI  - Serodiagnosis of <em>Mycobacterium avium</em> complex pulmonary disease in the USA
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00098212
DP  - 2013 Aug 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 454--460
VI  - 42
IP  - 2
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/2/454.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/2/454.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2013 Aug 01; 42
AB  - Diagnosis of Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease (MAC-PD) can be difficult. A previous study from Japan reported the usefulness of a serodiagnostic test for MAC-PD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the test in similar patients in the USA. 100 patients with known or suspected MAC-PD and 52 healthy volunteers were enrolled into the study at National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA. Serum glycopeptidolipid core immunoglobulin A antibody levels were measured with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit and routine clinical evaluations were performed. The patients were divided into two groups based on clinical evaluation: 87 patients with MAC-PD that met American Thoracic Society criteria, and 13 who did not meet the criteria. The sensitivity and specificity (cut-off point 0.3 U·mL−1) of the serodiagnostic test for diagnosing MAC-PD were 70.1% and 93.9%, respectively. Among the 44 patients in the MAC-PD group with two or more positive sputum cultures within the previous 6 months, sensitivity was 81.8%. The EIA kit demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity for the identification of MAC-PD, particularly in patients with two or more positive cultures, and may be useful for rapid MAC-PD diagnosis.