The role of Casoni's skin test and indirect haemagglutination test in the diagnosis of hydatid disease

Abstract

Casoni's skin test and indirect haemagglutination test (IHA) are still used in Turkey. The preoperative IHA test or Casoni's skin test results of 120 patients with surgically confirmed hydatidosis were retrospectively studied during 1997-2004. At the same period, 306 patients with non-hydatid disease had serologic results for echinococcosis. The sensitivity of immediate intradermal reaction, delayed intradermal reaction, and IHA were 70, 62, and 56%, respectively. Casoni's skin test components had higher sensitivity than IHA (P < 0.01). The specificity of immediate intradermal reaction, delayed intradermal reaction, and IHA were 87, 85, and 84%, respectively. Cystic lesions in non-hydatid patients were localised commonly in the lungs. The occurrence of hydatid disease for pulmonary, hepatic, and renal cysts was 19, 54, and 5%, respectively. An immediate skin reaction to crude hydatid antigens is more useful than IHA.