An assessment of available rapid immunologic diagnostic methods

A critical evaluation of immunologic methods for diagnosis is presented. The issues of antibody versus antigen detection are addressed. Reverse capture immunoglobulin M detection is described as a potentially useful method. Agglutination procedures currently in use for antigen detection are summarized. Comparative evaluations of commercially available products are presented. The final issue discussed is that of enzyme immunoassay versus fluorescent antibody microscopy. Using Chlamydia detection as an example, advantages and disadvantages of each technology are assessed.