Abstract
A simple diagnostic method for Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia was attempted by agglutination test with M. pneumoniae antigen.
The antigen was prepared from broth culture of M. pneumoniae, Mac strain. It was believed to be the important factors in preparing the antigen that highly concentrated M. pneumoniae suspension should be made and M. pneumoniae aggregates in it should be homogenized, for example, by trypsin solution.
The method of the test was very simple; one drop of antigen and one drop of undiluted serum were mixed on a glass plate at room temperature and the reading was done within two minutes.
The sensitivity of this test was compared with that of complement fixation (CF) test on 118 paired serum specimens of pneumonia patients and it was proved that this test was almost as sensitive as CF test.
The specificity of this test was shown to be considerably high enough for diagnostic use. But it was also shown that false positive diagnosis as a result of nonspecific reaction might occur occasionally though not so frequently. To elucidate this problem further studies would be necessary.
It may be mentioned at this step of the study that the agglutination test is recommended, for its simplicity, to be employed as a routine screening test for M. pneurnoniae pneumonia.
