Rabbit IgG (Fab'2) [HRP]

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is one of the common risk factors for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). A positive Aspergillus IgG is a key element of the diagnosis of CPA but this has not been studied in Indonesia. We conducted studies with patients at the end of TB therapy in Indonesia. We performed receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis to determine the optimum cutoff of the Aspergillus-specific IgG level (Immulite and Dynamiker ELISA) in those patients who met criteria of CPA in relation to control groups. In 203 TB patients, 26 (13%) patients had clinical and radiological features of CPA. We derived optimum cutoffs for Immulite Aspergillus-specific IgG of 11.5 mg/L and Dynamiker anti-galactomannan IgG of 106.8 AU/mL (sensitivity 89% and 83%, specificity 78% and 51%, respectively). The currently accepted Aspergillus-specific IgG cutoff of Immulite and Dynamiker assays for CPA diagnosis may require slight adjustment for the Indonesian population. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Background Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP) remains a diagnostic challenge. The process of collecting and extracting serum and droppings from causative animals for the inhalation challenge test is complicated and the risk of inducing disease progression exists. Objective To investigate the utility and safety of an inhalation challenge test using pigeon eggs. Methods Pigeon eggs were pasteurized and mixed with a saline solution to produce an inhalation fluid. An inhalation challenge test was conducted on 19 patients with bird-related CHP and 17 patients with interstitial lung disease other than bird-related CHP. To identify antigens in pigeon eggs, the antigen-antibody responses of the pigeon eggs and serum from patients were evaluated using Western blotting. Results The mean changes in C-reactive protein, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and lactate dehydrogenase significantly increased by 0.32 mg/dL (P = .014), 7.8 Torr (P = .002), 1.4 mm/h (P = .012), and 5.4 U/mL (P = .0019), respectively, in bird-related CHP group compared to the control 24 hours after the inhalation challenge test. Furthermore, within 24 hours of the inhalation test, the mean forced vital capacity decreased by 2.3% in the bird-related CHP group compared with a decline of 0.05% in the control group (P = .035). Serum collected from seven bird-related CHP patients who underwent the inhalation challenge test and reacted to antigens with molecular weights of 37-75 KDa, and these molecular weights were consistent with egg albumin and globulin. Conclusion Since a mild response was observed after the inhalation challenge test using pigeon eggs, this test was an obvious candidate for diagnosing bird-related CHP.