A Comparative Evaluation of Rapid Card Test with Enzyme- Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Detection of HBsAg Among Pregnant Women in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is an important health problem and a leading cause of death worldwide. The most important marker for HBV infection is HBsAg. A proper identification of kit is required for proper diagnosis of infection, as well as disease management and prevention. Aims& Objective: - The aim of the present study was to compare rapid HBsAg detection ICT kits for the screening of HBV infection with gold standard ELISA method. Methods: The study comprised 500 blood samples of pregnant women. These samples were tested with ICT kits of (Hepa Card Company) and ELISA (HEPLISA by J. Mitra.). Results: In present study we found 100% sensitivity, 99.59% specificity, 81.81% positive predictive value ,100%Negative predictive value and 99.60% diagnostic efficiency of rapid card test with comparison to ELISA for HBsAg detection. Conclusion: The present study concluded that the overall performance of the rapid ICT kit for HBsAg was equally sensitive to ELISA and yet they were cheap and quicker. It can be recommended that ELISA comparable rapid devices may be allowed to be used for preliminary screening of HBsAg especially in remote areas or where cost is an issue.