Background and aims:To determine actual concentration of clinically significant IgG antibodies, there is need to inactivate IgM antibodies. Aim of this study was to study effect of dithiothreitol (DTT) on ABO isoagglutinin titers performed by column agglutination technology (CAT) and conventional tube technique (CTT) and to compare results obtained by DTT treatment.
Materials and methods:This was a prospective, observational study conducted from October 2018 to March 2020. All consecutive O group donors were included. All samples were consecutively tested by CTT and CAT, before and after DTT treatment (pCTT, pCAT).Results: A total of 2005 donors were included. 295 (14.71%) had inter-observer variation by CTT and 51 (2.54%) had inter-observer variation by CAT. IgG titers were found to be more than IgM titers. Reduction in IgG titers was observed with DTT. Concordance between CTT and pCAT was found to be unsatisfactory. pCTT results showed one-fold higher decrease than pCAT when compared to pre-treatment results. IgG titers for both anti-A and anti-B showed strong correlation between CTT (1+ strength) and pCAT (2+ strength). Comparison between CTT (1+) and CAT (1+, 2+, 3+), pCTT (1+) and CAT (1+, 2+, 3+), pCTT (1+) and pCAT (1+,2+, 3+) was performed using Wilcoxon signed-rank paired test for significance. For all comparisons, test was significant at 1+ and not significant at 3+ end point.
Conclusion:There is significant difference between antibody titers estimated using DTT treated and untreated plasma. Use of DTT for ABO isoagglutinin titer estimation is recommended.