Pooling of Noncollaborative Multilaboratory Data for Evaluation of the Use of DNA Probe Test Kits in Identifying...

The Accuprobe test kit, a DNA probe culture confirmation test kit for identifying bacterial isolates as Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated with 148 food-borne Listeria isolates. The identities of the isolates were confirmed by conventional tests. A subset of the Listeria isolates was also used to evaluate the Gene-Trak Listeria monocytogenes isolation kit. The data obtained with each kit were pooled with data for that kit from independent published studies. Interlaboratory performances were then estimated statistically, to achieve the main features of orthodox interlaboratory collaborative studies. The large number of strains required in this noncollaborative evaluation method advantageously provided a more representative sampling of the potential isolates that may be found in practice. Exact comparability between the two kit studies was not possible nor is it a feature of orthodox collaborative identification kit studies. However, the kits apparently performed equivalently given the different statistical confidences dictated by the study designs.