COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ELISA AND DOT-BLOT FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF TUBERCULOUS MENINGITIS

Abstract

Tuberculous meningitis is a central nervous system tuberculosis caused by M. tuberculosis. It causes high mortality if delayed in diagnosis and treatment. In this comparative study, Cerebrospinal fluid from TBM and non TBM patients were analyzed by ELISA and Dot-blot for anti-tuberculous antibodies. About 70% of the TBM samples showed positivity by Dot-blot and 72.5% by ELISA. Among the non TBM controls, 2.9% showed positivity by Dot-blot and 4.4% by ELISA. Both methods did not differ significantly as seen by Fisher's exact test (p = 0.50). Thus, Dot-blot could be an easy alternative to ELISA for quick diagnosis of TBM.

Keywords:

• cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
• Dot-blot
• ELISA
• immunodiagnosis
• tuberculous meningitis

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We thank the Neurologists of NIMHANS for referring the CSF samples for routine investigations. We also thank the Director NIMHANS for permitting us to carry out the above study. We acknowledge the help provided by technicians in the department of Neuro-Microbiology. The statistical help rendered by Mr. Shivaji Rao is gratefully acknowledged. We would like to thank University Grants Commission (UGC) for providing partial grants for this study.