Comparison between Enzyme Immunoassays Performed on Samples of Dried Blood and Serum for Toxoplasmosis Prenatal Screening: Population-based Study

Abstract

Objective Most prenatal screening programs for toxoplasmosis use immunoassays in serum samples of pregnant women. Few studies assess the accuracy of screening tests in dried blood spots, which are of easy collection, storage, and transportation. The goals of the present study are to determine the performance and evaluate the agreement between an immunoassay of dried blood spots and a reference test in the serum of pregnant women from a population-based prenatal screening program for toxoplasmosis in Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed to compare the immunoassays Imunoscreen Toxoplasmose IgM and Imunoscreen Toxoplasmose IgG (Mbiolog Diagnósticos, Ltda., Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil)in dried blood spots with the enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (ELFA, BioMérieux S.A., Lyon, France) reference standard in the serum of pregnant women from Minas Gerais Congenital Toxoplasmosis Control Program. Results The dried blood spot test was able to discriminate positive and negative results of pregnant women when compared with the reference test, with an accuracy of 98.2% for immunoglobulin G (IgG), and of 95.8% for immunoglobulin M (IgM). Conclusion Dried blood samples are easy to collect, store, and transport, and they have a good performance, making this a promising method for prenatal toxoplasmosis screening programs in countries with continental dimensions, limited resources, and a high prevalence of toxoplasmosis, as is the case of Brazil.

Atuação do enfermeiro na prevenção de toxoplasmose gestacional e congênita na atenção básica

“…Souza et al, (2021) coletou amostras de sangue em papel filtro, na mesma técnica e condições da realização do teste do pezinho, o qual foi coletado simultaneamente, e foram realizados testes Elisa de IgG e IgM nos RN. Foram coletadas 17 amostras das quais pouco mais de 5% tiveram resultado de teste de avidez baixo, indicando infecção congênita da criança.E assim o tratamento e cuidado foi iniciado ainda na segunda semana de vida do bebê, uma vez que o teste do pezinho precisa ser realizado ainda na primeira semana e este foi realizado simultaneamente Marques et al, (2021). em um estudo que também utilizou amostras de sangue seco, colhidas nesse caso em gestantes, as quais subsidiaram a realização de exames de IgG e IgM.…”