Comparison of an optical immunoassay technique with two culture methods for the detection of group A streptococci in a pediatric office.

For detecting group A beta-hemolytic streptococci in an office setting, an optical immunoassay method was compared with two culture methods. The sensitivity and specificity of OIA as compared with 5% sheep blood agar cultures were 91.4% and 95.6%, and as compared with a Todd-Hewitt broth method were 90.4% and 94.1%, respectively.