Coincidencias en la detección de toxoplasma gondii entre el método inmunocromatográfico y el método elisa en mujeres embarazadas atendidas en el hospital general Alfredo Noboa Montenegro.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that represents a challenge for public health due to its ability to infect humans and animals, without necessarily showing clinical manifestations. It is considered a Group 2 risk agent, that is, moderate individual risk and low community risk. However, it has a great impact on populations with compromised immune systems because it has the ability to damage the central nervous system. Pregnant women are among the vulnerable groups, as they can have significant complications, such as neurological, visual, and auditory disorders, and even the death of the newborn. This work focused on analyzing the coincidences in the detection of Toxoplasma gondii between the immunochromatographic method and ELISA in pregnant patients treated at the Alfredo Noboa Montenegro General Hospital. The study was carried out using a non experimental cross-sectional and correlational design, with a quantitative approach. The results indicated that the sample presented a balanced distribution in terms of age, with a predominant concentration of low results in the ELISA IgG and IgM tests, and a moderate dispersion around the mean value. The IgG immunochromatography test showed a clear and adequate interpretation, while the IgM revealed a low prevalence of positive results, suggesting the need for further evaluation for indeterminate cases. Although the IgM immunochromatography test presents higher sensitivity, the IgM ELISA presented a greater consistency in the reporting of results. The statistical analysis did not show significant differences between the Immunochromatography and ELISA tests, suggesting a similar capacity to detect positive and negative cases. In conclusion, the results obtained from the comparison between the Immunochromatography and ELISA tests for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii suggest that both methodologies present a similar capacity to identify positive and negative cases in the analyzed sample