Electrochemiluminescence Epidemiologic Detection of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Pregnant Women With Direct and Indirect Diagnostic Techniques (ELISA Avidity Plus Biochemical Assay), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and aims: Toxoplasmosis is a very common disease in the world and has two types,<br />including chronic and acute toxoplasmosis. In the chronic toxoplasmosis, the abnormality of tissue<br />function is negligible, but in acute toxoplasmosis, the function of the reticuloendothelial system is<br />interrupted and the assessment of Toxoplasma antibody with tissue enzymes is very essential in this<br />stage. In addition, in some conditions, serum ferritin increases in the acute phase of the infectious<br />disease. In congenital toxoplasmosis, the evaluation of biochemical factors and IgG avidity test is<br />important for detecting the acute congenital toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. Based on the<br />above-mentioned explanations, the present study aimed to evaluate the biochemical factors in<br />patients with acute toxoplasmosis (congenital toxoplasmosis) among the Iranian population using<br />electrochemiluminescence and IgG ELISA avidity.<br />Methods: The study was based on a comparative abundance study and was conducted from March to<br />June 2017. Material included 980 serum and amniotic fluid samples collected from human blood with<br />a high level of IgG antibody against Toxoplasma gondii in Rajaie Center, Tehran, Iran. The standard and<br />the main tests included the ELISA assay and the measurement of the liver transaminases (i.e., SGOT<br />and SGPT), along with/namely bilirubin and ferritin used to detect IgG antibodies and to evaluate the<br />acute toxoplasmosis, respectively. Finally, the results were analyzed by SPSS software.<br />Results: The results showed that the level of liver transaminases, namely, serum bilirubin and ferritin<br />increase in some patients with a high level of IgG avidity antibody against Toxoplasma gondii. For<br />example, the mean serum levels of SGOT was 108 IU/L in 120 patients with acute toxoplasmosis and<br />the mean serum bilirubin was about 5 mg/dL in 80 patients.<br />Conclusion: Overall, in acute congenital toxoplasmosis, the evaluation of IgG AVIDITY is regarded as<br />the first step and then the measurement of biochemical factors such as serum transaminases, serum<br />bilirubin, and serum ferritin is important.