Clinical laboratory significance of slide agglutination test and multiplex PCR method for determination of pneumococcal capsular serotypes

Abstract

Available examination methods to detect the capsular-type pneumococci include the slide agglutination test and multiplex PCR method, which are used to identify pneumococcal serotypes. From December 2008 to September 2016, 59 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from patients with invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs) at Aichi Medical University Hospital were subjected to slide agglutination and multiplex PCR methods. We found that we can reduce the amount of work needed for the multiplex PCR method by determining the capsule types using the slide agglutination method. When we found that the strain as non-aggregated by the slide agglutination method and not containing the antigen factor 6d, and when the 6A/6B/6C/6D-type band was also observed by the multiplex PCR method, we evaluated the strain as serotype 6C. The combination of the slide agglutination test and the multiplex PCR method might be useful for determining serotype 6C.