OBJECTIVEThis study compared two newborn Cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG antibody screening ELISA kits and evaluated the detection effectiveness of Abnova kit.

METHODSCMV IgG antibodies were detected by both SeraQuest and Abnova kits from dried blood spot (DBS) samples of 488 newborn heel sticks. The detection abilities of these two kits were compared in different sample dilution concentrations. Relative detection effectiveness of the Abnova kit was defined by statistical method using the SeraQuest kit as a point of comparison.

RESULTCompared to the SeraQuest screening test kit, the Abnova kit revealed a sensitivity of 98.9%, specificity of 78.6%, positive predictive value of 99.3%, negative predictive value of 68.8%, and the coincidence rate for these two screening test kits at 98.3%. The consistency check of both kits based on interpretation of the kappa statistic was relatively good. For the Abnova kit, the "area under the ROC curve" was 0.887, which indicates moderate accuracy.

CONCLUSIONAbnova kit can be applied to newborn screening for congenital CMV infections. However, repeating the test for ambiguous results is suggested to increase the specificity and negative predictive value.