Utility of Tetanos Quick Stick(R) Test for Selective Tetanus Prophylaxis

Yoon,  Yoo Sang; Kim,  Eui Chung; Lee,  Woon Hyoung; Chung,  Sang Won; Yi,  Jin Hee; Park,  In Cheol; Shim,  Ho Shik

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 15(2); 2004 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2004;15(2): 95-101.

Utility of Tetanos Quick Stick(R) Test for Selective Tetanus Prophylaxis

Yoo Sang Yoon, Eui Chung Kim, Woon Hyoung Lee, Sang Won Chung, Jin Hee Yi, In Cheol Park, Ho Shik Shim

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. hsshim@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
²Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Emergency Medicine, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:
Tetanus is still one kind of major health problem in many countries, so tetanus prophylaxis is very important. However medical interview and wound description are not always enough to determine the tetanus prophylaxis. Thus, we assessed the utility of Tetanos Quick Stick(R) test for selective tetanus prophylaxis in the emergency department.
METHODS:
From September 17, 2003 to October 4, 2003, 180 patients were studied for 14 days. Tetanos Quick Stick (R) and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were performed with 180 samples from 180 patients.
RESULTS:
The Tetanos Quick Stick(R) had a sensitivity of 79.6%, a specificity of 99.2%, a positive predictive value of 97.7 %, a negative predictive value of 91.9%, and an accuracy of 93.3%. CONCILUSION: The results of our study revealed that the Tetanos Quick Stick(R) test is useful for selective tetanus prophylaxis in the emergency department.

Key words: Tetanus, Prophylaxis