Performance of the ImmuView and BinaxNOW assays for the detection of urine and cerebrospinal fluid Streptococcus pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 antigen in patients with Legionnaires’ disease or pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis

The performances of the ImmuView Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) and Legionella pneumophila (Lp) urinary antigen test were compared to that of the BinaxNOW Sp and Lp assays, using frozen urine from 166 patients with Legionnaires' disease (LD) and 59 patients with pneumococcal pneumonia. Thirty Sp-positive or contrived cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) were also tested. Test specimens were collected and tested at different sites, with each site testing unique specimens by technologists blinded to expected results. No significant differences in test concordances were detected for the ImmuView and BinaxNOW assays for the Sp or Lp targets for urine from patients with pneumococcal pneumonia or LD when performance from both sites were combined. At one of two test sites the ImmuView Lp assay was more sensitive than the BinaxNOW assay, with no correlation between test performance and Lp serogroup 1 monoclonal type. Urines from six of seven patients with LD caused by Legionella spp. bacteria other than Lp serogroup 1 were negative in both assays. Both tests had equivalent performance for Sp-positive CSF. The clinical sensitivities for pneumococcal pneumonia were 88.1 and 94.4% for the ImmuView and Binax assays, and 87.6 and 84.2% for the Lp assays, respectively. Test specificities for pneumococcal pneumonia were 96.2 and 97.0% for the ImmuView and Binax assays, and 99.6 and 99.1% for the Lp assays. Both assays were highly specific for Sp in pediatric urines from children with nasopharyngeal colonization by the bacterium. ImmuView and BinaxNOW assay performance was equivalent in these studies.