Serodiagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis by enzyme immunoassay and soluble antigen fluorescent antibody tests using a saline extracted antigen.

The efficacy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and soluble antigen fluorescent antibody (SAFA) tests in the diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis was compared using saline extracted surface antigen of M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Of the 24 proved cases of intestinal tuberculosis ELISA detected positivity in 92% compared with 83% detected by the SAFA test. The 2 tests showed a strong correlation with each other and yielded a clear cut difference between patients and controls, although there was some degree of overlap.