Evaluation of the Agreement of Indirect Hemagglutination Test with Radiologic Methods in the Diagnosis of Cystic Echinococcosis: A Retrospective Analysis of Two-year Laboratory Results.

Objective Many studies have been conducted to determine the distribution map of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in our country. However, there is no data from Uşak province in the literature. One of the aims of our study is to present the first hospital data on CE disease from Uşak province. Clinical findings, radiologic, and serologic methods are used in the diagnosis. Many studies have been conducted on the role of these identification methods in the diagnosis of CE. Another aim of our study was to evaluate the contribution of indirect hemagglutination (IHA) method and radiologic imaging results to the diagnosis of CE.

Methods In our study, IHA results of 320 patient serum sent to our laboratory with suspected CE were obtained through the hospital information management system. Demographic data such as age, gender and imaging reports such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography were accessed from the hospital information system. Statistical analysis of the data obtained was evaluated using SPSS 25 package program.

Results Hospital data from Uşak province were presented for the first time and the prevalence was calculated as 19.37%. Unlike previous studies, IHA positivity was statistically higher (p<0.001) in the 21-40 age range compared to other age groups in our study. In the diagnosis of CE, the IHA test was found to be inadequate in early [World Health Organization (WHO) type 1] and late stage (WHO type 4-5) cases, while this correlation was better in active lesions.

Conclusion We think that it would be useful to recommend titer follow-up instead of reporting patients with IHA results of 1/80 and 1/160 as negative and that the use of serologic methods as a supportive tool for radiologic imaging methods in the diagnosis of CE will contribute to accurate diagnosis and treatment follow-up.