Clinical chemistry
-
We examined three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for human choriogonadotropin (hCG) (pregnancy tests) for use with urine and serum samples: the Tandem Icon II hCG Urine and Tandem Icon II hCG Serum, the NovoClone Target hCG Test, and the Abbott TestPacks hCG-urine and hCG-serum. Paired comparison of the results from each kit indicated that the NovoClone Target assay showed significantly lower diagnostic sensitivity (P less than 0.05) than did the Tandem Icon II or Abbott TestPack, both for urine and for serum samples. ⋯ Paired testing of urine kits vs serum kits also showed no significant differences (P greater than 0.05) in diagnostic sensitivity or specificity. We found the Abbott kits to be the most convenient to use and to read.