Table 5 Sensitivity and specificity of pairs of diagnostic tests in 100 stray adult dogs in Florida animal shelters compared to heartworm antigen (Ag) detection in (a) heat-treated serum and (b) non-heat-treated serum
From: Optimizing heartworm diagnosis in dogs using multiple test combinations
Test Pairs | Sensitivity (%) | Sensitivity 95% CI (%) | Specificity (%) | Specificity 95% CI (%) | Total positive results (n) | False-negative results (n) | False-positive results (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a. Test operating characteristics compared to heat-treated serum with the DiroCHEK® Antigen test | |||||||
 WITNESS® HW Ag & SNAP® Ag | 50 | 31- 69 | 100 | 95–100 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & DiroCHEK® Ag (non-heat treated) | 57 | 37–76 | 100 | 95–100 | 16 | 12 | 0 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 79 | 59- 92 | 82 | 71–90 | 35 | 6 | 13 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & Antech heartworm antibody test | 68 | 48–84 | 94 | 86–98 | 23 | 9 | 4 |
 SNAP® Ag & DiroCHEK® Ag (non-HT) | 57 | 37–76 | 100 | 95–100 | 16 | 12 | 0 |
 SNAP® Ag & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 79 | 59- 92 | 82 | 71–90 | 35 | 6 | 13 |
 SNAP® Ag & Antech heartworm antibody test | 68 | 48- 84 | 94 | 86–98 | 23 | 9 | 4 |
 DiroCHEK® Ag (non-HT) & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 82 | 63–94 | 82 | 71–90 | 36 | 5 | 13 |
 DiroCHEK® Ag (non-HT) & Antech heartworm antibody test | 71 | 51–87 | 94 | 86–98 | 24 | 8 | 4 |
 HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) & Antech heartworm antibody test | 68 | 48–84 | 81 | 70–89 | 33 | 9 | 14 |
b. Test operating characteristics compared to non-heat-treated serum with the DiroCHEK® Antigen test | |||||||
 WITNESS® HW Ag & SNAP® Ag | 88 | 62–98 | 100 | 96–100 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & DiroCHEK® Ag (heat treated) | 100 | 79–100 | 86 | 76–92 | 28 | 0 | 12 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 94 | 70–100 | 76 | 66–85 | 35 | 1 | 20 |
 WITNESS® HW Ag & Antech heartworm antibody test | 94 | 70–100 | 90 | 82–95 | 23 | 1 | 8 |
 SNAP® Ag & DiroCHEK® Ag (HT) | 100 | 79–100 | 86 | 76–92 | 28 | 0 | 12 |
 SNAP® Ag & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 94 | 70–100 | 76 | 66–85 | 35 | 1 | 20 |
 SNAP® Ag & Antech heartworm antibody test | 94 | 70–100 | 90 | 82–96 | 23 | 1 | 8 |
 DiroCHEK® Ag (HT) & HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) | 100 | 79–100 | 70 | 59–80 | 41 | 0 | 25 |
 DiroCHEK® Ag (HT) & Antech heartworm antibody test | 100 | 79–100 | 81 | 71–89 | 32 | 0 | 16 |
 HESKA Solostep® FH (Ab) & Antech heartworm antibody test | 75 | 48–93 | 75 | 64–84 | 33 | 4 | 21 |