Evaluation of screening tests for the detection of antistreptolysin O antibodies.

The accuracy of two screening tests, one utilizing serum and the other utilizing whole blood, was compared with the accuracy of the conventional macrotitration method for the detection of antistreptolysin O antibodies. Of the 569 specimens tested with the serum screening procedure and the macrotitration method, 235 and 282, respectively, were positive for antistreptolysin O antibodies. Comparative testing of 200 specimens with the peripheral blood screening test and the macrotitration method gave 60.5% by the macrotitration procedure. Discrepant results with both procedures were obtained with specimens having 166 Todd units. The results suggest that these screening procedures can be used to screen specimens for the presence of significant antistreptolysin O antibodies.