REACCIONES SEROLOGICAS EN PACIENTES CON AMIBIASIS

Abstract

A group of 135 patients that included cases with asymtomatic or chronic intestinal amebiasis, the acute form of the disease, hepatic abscess, genital amebiasis and a control group, were studied for antibodies to Entamoeba histolytica,using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination, agar immunodiffusion and latex agglutination test.

The cases with intestinal amebiasis showed circulating antibodies in different titers that did not permit to differentiate the different clinical forms of intestinal amebiasis. In the patients with acute and chronic intestinal amebiasis higher antibody titers were found in the complement fixation and hemagglutination tests than in the precipitin tests, indicating low tissue invasion of the parasites.

The highest titers in all the tests were found in the cases with hepatic abscess. The latex test was in general more sensible but less specific than the other tests, especially the immunodiffusion test.