HLA-B27 testing in Thai patients using the PCR-SSP technique.

We develop the HLA-B27 test kit using the PCR-SSP technique. Five hundred forty blood samples were tested for HLA-B27 by microlymphocytotoxicity test (LCT) and PCR-SSP. It was found that 127 (23.5%) and 134 (24.8%) of these samples were positive for HLA-B27 by LCT and PCR-SSP, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR-SSP were 94.8 and 100%, respectively, when using LCT as the standard method. The PCR-SSP positive predictive value was 100%, negative predictive value was 98.3%, and a concordance rate of 98.7%. This study shows that the PCR-SSP is simple, convenient, and a more cost-effective in-house test kit.