Find in Library

Coccidiomycosis is a potentially life-threatening fungal infection endemic to certain regions of Argentina. The infection is caused by <i>Coccidioides</i> spp. and is primarily diagnosed by <i>Coccidioides</i> antibody (Ab) detection. Access to rapid, highly accurate diagnostic testing is critical to ensure prompt antifungal therapy. The sōna <i>Coccidioides</i> Ab Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) performs faster and requires less laboratory infrastructure and equipment compared with other Ab detection assays, potentially providing a substantial improvement for rapid case screening in coccidioidomycosis-endemic regions; however, validation of this test is needed. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of the sōna <i>Coccidioides</i> Ab (LFA) and compare agreement with anti-<i>Coccidioides</i> Ab detection assays. A total of 103 human sera specimens were tested, including 25 specimens from patients with coccidioidomycosis and 78 from patients without coccidioidomycosis. The sōna <i>Coccidioides</i> Ab Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) was performed with a sensitivity of 88%, and specificity and accuracy of 87%. Furthermore, the <i>Coccidioides</i> Ab LFA had good agreement with other anti-<i>Coccidioides</i> Ab detection assays. Our findings suggest the sōna <i>Coccidioides</i> Ab LFA has satisfactory performance and may be useful for diagnosing coccidioidomycosis in endemic regions.