Accurate and Simple Interpretation of HLA B27 Screening by Flow Cytometry

Objectives: This study aims to compare the results of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B27 screenings by flow cytometry with results obtained by the sequence-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) HLA B27 analysis.
Patients and methods: B etween J anuary 0 1st, 2008 and December 31st, 2008, the flow cytometry screening results of HLA B27 analysis for 486 samples were retrospectively analyzed. The results were compared with those obtained by the SSP-PCR for the diagnostic accuracy.
Results: The sensitivity of HLA B27 screening test by flow cytometry was 99% while the specificity was 100%. For our study population, while positive predictive value was 0.99 for HLA B27 screening for cytometry; negative predictive value was 1. HLA B7 positivity is detected in 0.8% of all patients.
Conclusion: Our study results suggest that accurate flow cytometric screening test for HLA B27 is a reliable screening test with high specificity and sensitivity and can be safely used by the clinicians.