Abstract
To evaluate the reliability of Chlamydia pneumoniae-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA antibody titers as measured by the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) test, we compared results from 392 individuals using a standard MIF protocol at two academic laboratories. The kappas for dichotomous titers (>/=16 versus <16) were 0.39 for IgA and 0.53 for IgG. Measurement error likely attenuates C. pneumoniae-disease associations; the magnitude of attenuation can be estimated from results of studies such as this one.
Publication types
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
- Aged
- Antibodies, Bacterial / blood*
- Chlamydophila Infections / blood
- Chlamydophila Infections / diagnosis
- Chlamydophila Infections / immunology
- Chlamydophila pneumoniae / immunology*
- Female
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / methods
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / standards*
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / statistics & numerical data
- Humans
- Immunoglobulin A / blood*
- Immunoglobulin G / blood*
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Reproducibility of Results
Substances
- Antibodies, Bacterial
- Immunoglobulin A
- Immunoglobulin G