Prevalence of canine heartworm infection in Queensland, Australia: comparison of diagnostic methods and investigation of factors associated with reduction in antigen detection

Table 3 Comparison of diagnostic tests in detection of infection with D. immitis for Townsville and Brisbane dogs combined

Diagnostic tests compared	No. of dogs with each combination of results				Estimated difference (%) (95% CI)^a	P value^b	Bonferroni corrected P value^c
Diagnostic tests compared	+ / +	+ / −	− / +	− / −	Estimated difference (%) (95% CI)^a	P value^b	Bonferroni corrected P value^c
Antigen testing after heat treatment/conventional antigen testing	48	22	0	313	5.7% (3.2, 8.3)	< 0.001	< 0.001
Antigen testing after heat treatment/modified Knott’s test	37	33	0	313	8.6% (5.5, 11.7)	< 0.001	< 0.001
Conventional antigen testing/modified Knott’s test	29	19	8	327	2.9% (− 0.03, 5.8)	< 0.03	< 0.10
Antigen testing after heat treatment/conventional antigen testing and modified Knott’s test combined	56	14	0	313	3.7% (1.5, 5.8)	< 0.001	< 0.001

ISSN: 1756-3305