Saline–indirect antiglobulin test

Abstract

A saline–indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) is performed without addition of enhancement media to increase the binding of antibody to the red blood cell antigen during the 37°C incubation. Although infrequently used as a primary means for antibody detection or identification, this test is useful because of the variety of possible applications in antibody identification studies. It is critical to the test sensitivity to allow enough incubation time (30–60 minutes) for maximum antibody binding to occur. The saline test can also be subject to a direct agglutination reading after immediate spin, room temperature, or incubation at 37°C before conversion to the IAT. This step allows further flexibility in assessing the reactivity of directly agglutinating allo- or autoantibodies in tests performed at 37°C or lower temperatures.

The Indirect Antiglobulin (Coombs’) Test Is Specific but Less Sensitive Than the Direct Antiglobulin Test for Detecting Anti-Erythrocytic Autoantibodies and Thereby Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in Dogs

“…In human medicine, the incubation time of serum with erythrocytes is critical for obtaining a positive IAT result [ 48 ]. In the veterinary literature, reported incubation periods ranged between 30 and 60 min [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 48 ].…”

“…In human medicine, the incubation time of serum with erythrocytes is critical for obtaining a positive IAT result [ 48 ]. In the veterinary literature, reported incubation periods ranged between 30 and 60 min [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 48 ]. Notably, attempts to shorten the incubation time to 15 min using the enhancers mentioned above or utilizing laser incubation [ 49 ] have not yet evolved into a standard procedure.…”