Between-laboratory quality control of automated analysis of IgG antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus.
Measurement of IgG antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus is an important criterion for the diagnosis of aspergilloma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. In the present study, we compared IgG antibody analysis against A. fumigatus using 2 widely used automated immunochemistry systems. In a between-laboratory quality control program, good agreement was found between the results from laboratories that used the ImmunoCAP system; however, a laboratory that used the Immulite 2000 system found approx. 2-fold higher antibody levels in the quality control samples than did the ImmunoCAP system. Measurements of IgG against A. fumigatus in patient sera were significantly correlated (r(s) = 0.77, P < 0.0001). These results demonstrate that analysis of IgG antibodies against A. fumigatus with these 2 systems has reached a level of standardization that allows for direct comparison of quantitative results from different laboratories. For longitudinal analysis of IgG against A. fumigatus, reagents from the same manufacturer should be used.