Diagnostic significance of the coagglutination reaction in patients with the diarrhoea syndrome

Specific soluble Shigella, Salmonella and Yersinia enterocolitica antigens were determined in biological fluids (saliva, urine, coprofiltrate) from 268 patients with the diarrhoea syndrome using the coagglutination reaction. The findings suggest that the coagglutination reaction (COA) is a simple and efficient method suitable for the fast diagnosing of acute intestinal infection (AII) in the early days from the onset of the disease. COA enables the identification of specific antigens associated with the causative agents of intestinal infections in 79-54% of patients with shigellosis and salmonellosis. COA was shown to possess a high diagnostic potential in AII of unknown etiology. Shigella, Salmonella and Yersinia antigens were determined in 47.7, 23.4 and 10.8% of cases respectively where no bacterial excretion could be confirmed. Two and less frequently three antigens being identified simultaneously in 10.8% cases. The identification of opportunistic microorganisms in AII using the COA does not appear to be sufficient to confirm their etiological significance as Shigella and Salmonella antigens were simultaneously determined in most patients.