Comparison of NS1 Antigen and Antibody Detection Method in Early Diagnosis of Dengue Infection

Background and Aim The present study was carried out to evaluate whether NS-1 antigen help in early diagnosis of dengue infection as compared to Anti IgG/IgM antibody. Methodology For this purpose a total of 170 clinically suspect patients were enrolled in the study. All the patients were subjected to NS-1 Antigen and anti-IgG/IgM assessment using SD-Bioline Dengue Duo combination kit. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. Chi-square test, 't'-test, level of agreement (?) and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of the results was calculated. Results Positivity rate was 53.5%. Maximum positivity was observed for NS-1 (n=74, 43.5%) followed by IgM (n=71, 41.8%). NS-1 antigen had a higher sensitivity rate for early detection (