TABLE 3.
Sensitivities and specificities of PCR assays for detection of B. burgdorferi DNA in different clinical specimens from patients with LBa
| Clinical specimen and region | No. of studies included | Median % sensitivityb (range) | Reported % specificity range | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin biopsy | ||||
| EM | 16 | 69 (36-88) | 98-100 | |
| United States | 4 | 64 (59-67) | 98-100 | 177, 301, 303, 327 |
| Europe | 12 | 73 (36-88) | 100 | 31, 165, 209-211, 234, 256, 272, 279, 344, 358, 359 |
| ACA, Europe | 8 | 76 (54-100) | 100 | 31, 199, 209, 210, 256, 279, 344, 359 |
| Blood, plasma, serum | 6 | 14 (0-100) | ||
| United States | 3 | 18 (0-59) | 100 | 108, 172, 345 |
| Europe | 3 | 10 (4-100) | NAc | 78, 233, 234 |
| CSF | 16 | 38 (12-100) | 93-100 | |
| United States | 6 | 73 (25-93) | 93-100 | 134, 150, 172, 180, 223, 239 |
| Europe | 10 | 23 (12-100) | 98-100 | 11, 57, 74, 88, 130, 162, 233, 236, 270, 377 |
| Synovial fluid | 8 | 78 (42-100) | 100 | |
| United States | 4 | 83 (76-100) | 100 | 30, 172, 224, 252 |
| Europe | 4 | 66 (42-85) | 100 | 87, 133, 270, 293 |
a
Only studies published in MEDLINE-indexed periodicals during the years 1991 to 2003 and those examined by PCR assay for ≥5 cases are included.
b
Median sensitivity of PCR assays based on included studies. For studies tested with multiple PCR primer sets, the highest sensitivity reported was selected for analysis.
c
NA, not available.