Impact of Storage Time of Fresh Serum Samples on Rapid Test Results of HBsAg

• Published in: Viral hepatit dergisi 2014-08, Vol.20 (2)
• Main Authors: MENGELOGLU, Zafer, KOÇOGLU, Esra, BUCAK, Özlem, KARABÖRK, Seyda, TAS, Tekin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens; Diagnostic tests; Hepatitis; Storage
• ISSN: 1307-9441; 2147-2939
• DOI: 10.4274/vhd.46220

Objective: Rapid tests, amongst the methods used in the diagnosis of hepatitis B virus infection, detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). It is important to know whether the elapsed time between sample collection and the process has negative impact on the test results. It was aimed to evaluate the impact of samples stored either at room temperature (RT) or at +4 °C for different durations on rapid test results. Materials and Methods: A total of 51 serum samples were used. HBsAg tests were performed at the time the samples arrived at our laboratory using chemiluminescence method. 21 samples positive for HBsAg were accepted as the study group, and 30 negative samples were the controls. All the samples were tested immediately using rapid assay. Then the samples were divided into two aliquots and divided again into two groups; the first group was stored at RT, and the second was stored at +4 °C. Two or three hours after the first tests, all the samples were tested again using rapid assay, and then, they were continued to be stored; and after 24 hours, the tests were repeated for the third time. Test results were scored between "negative" and "+++". Results: In the initial rapid tests, the sensitivity rate was 85.7%, and the specificity was 100%. A statistically significant association was found between the positivity grades and the mean HBsAg levels (p