Potential application of dot-immunobinding assay as a rapid diagnostic test in tuberculous meningitis.

A simple dot-immunobinding assay (Dot-Iba) in nitrocellulose paper was developed for the detection of specific IgG antibody to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen 5 and mycobacterial antigen in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). The assay gave 77.1% sensitivity for the detection of IgG antibody to M. tuberculosis antigen 5 and 48.6% sensitivity for the detection of mycobacterial antigen in patients with TBM.