@article{191,
  keywords = {Antibodies, Bacterial, Antigens, Bacterial, Bacteriological Techniques, Brazil, Female, Glycolipids, Humans, Immunoglobulin M, leprosy, Male, Molecular Diagnostic Techniques, Mycobacterium leprae, Skin, Staining and Labeling},
  author = {Lyon S and Lyon AC and Castorina da Silva R and Faria Grossi MA and Lyon SH and Bührer-Sékula S and Rocha MO C},
  title = {A comparison of ML Flow serology and slit skin smears to assess the bacterial load in newly diagnosed leprosy patients in Brazil.},
  abstract = {<p><b>INTRODUCTION: </b>The ML Flow test is an immunochromatographic assay that detects IgM antibodies against M. leprae-specific anti-phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I). In addition to slit skin smears stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen technique, it can be helpful in the operational classification of leprosy patients for treatment purposes.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>This work studied the relationship between antibody levels as detected by semi-quantitative ML Flow serologic test and bacterial load as quantified by slit skin smear.</p><p><b>PATIENTS AND METHODS: </b>135 patients with newly detected leprosy at the reference service in Sanitary Dermatology in Brazil had slit skin smears (registered as bacillary index - BI) and an ML Flow test (registered qualitatively and semi-quantitatively) performed at admission. A logistic regression and agreement measures (kappa index) were calculated.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Slit skin smears were positive in 35.9% of patients and 57% of patients were seropositive for PGL-1 antibodies. Among the seropositive patients, 416% had five or fewer skin lesions, and 65.8% had more than one peripheral nerve involved. Slit skin smears were positive in only three seronegative patients (5.6%), and negative in 41.9% of seropositive patients. Patients with a BI of 4 + had an OR of 33 for being seropositive in comparison to those with a low BI.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS: </b>There is a correlation between serologic test and slit skin smear results. Therefore, an ML Flow test may become a useful tool in the clinical classification of leprosy, besides slit skin smears, which require a proper laboratory infrastructure and experienced personnel.</p>},
  year = {2008},
  journal = {Leprosy review},
  volume = {79},
  pages = {162-70},
  month = {2008 Jun},
  issn = {0305-7518},
  url = {https://leprosyreview.org/article/79/2/16-2170},
  language = {eng},
}