Table 2.
Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values considering different skin layers and real-time polymerase chain reaction thresholds.
| Threshold | Sample | Sensitivity—positive/leprosy (95%CI) | Specificity—negative/control (95%CI) | Accuracy (95%CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any bacillus threshold | Epidermis | 57.41% – 31/54 (44.16–69.67) | 76.09% – 35/46 (62.06–86.09) | 66.00% (56.28–74.54) |
| Superior dermis | 59.26% – 32/54 (45.97–71.32) | 73.91% – 34/46 (59.74–84.4) | 66.00% (56.28–74.54) | |
| Inferior dermis | 58.49% – 31/53 (45.09–70.74) | 77.27% – 34/44 (63.01–87.16) | 67.01% (57.16–75.56) | |
| Hypodermis | 54.90% – 28/51 (41.38–67.73) | 83.72% – 36/43 (70.03–91.88) | 68.09% (58.11–76.64) | |
| Nasal swab | 20.83% – 10/48 (11.73, 34.26) | 100% – 28/28 (87.94, 100) | 50.00% (39.03, 60.97) | |
| 0.1 bacillus threshold | Epidermis | 38.89% – 21/54 (27.04–52.21) | 89.13% – 41/46 (76.96–95.27) | 62.00% (52.21–70.9) |
| Superior dermis | 40.74% – 22/54 (28.68–54.03) | 86.96% – 40/46 (74.33–93.88) | 62.00% (52.21–70.9) | |
| Inferior dermis | 49.06% – 26/53 (36.12–62.12) | 84.09% – 37/44 (70.63–92.07) | 64.95% (55.05–73.71) | |
| Hypodermis | 41.18% – 21/51 (28.75–54.83) | 93.02% – 40/43 (81.39–97.6) | 64.89% (54.83–73.78) | |
| Nasal swab | 8.33% – 4/48 (3.288, 19.55) | 100% – 28/28 (87.94, 100) | 42.11% (31.65, 53.32) | |
| 1 bacillus threshold | Epidermis | 24.07% – 13/54 (14.64–36.95) | 100% – 46/46 (92.29–100) | 59.00% (49.2–68.13) |
| Superior dermis | 33.33% – 18/54 (22.24–46.64) | 93.48% – 43/46 (82.5–97.76) | 61.00% (51.2–69.98) | |
| Inferior dermis | 30.19% – 16/53 (19.52–43.54) | 95.45% – 42/44 (84.86–98.74) | 59.79% (49.84–69.00) | |
| Hypodermis | 29.41% – 15/51 (18.71–43) | 97.67% – 42/43 (87.94–99.59) | 60.64% (50.53–69.91) | |
| Nasal swab | 6.25% – 3/48 (2.148, 16.84) | 100% – 28/28 (87.94, 100) | 40.79% (30.44, 52.02) |
Analysis performed in the total population.