Is This Test Valid?

[Luke987]

Well basically, I used a home testing kit for celiac disease. When it came to putting the test stick in the tube I put it in the wrong way, so I flipped it over. For 10 minutes nothing came up (which by then should have) so I'm guessing because I put it in upside down I had ruined it. Luckily I had access to a second stick. I put it in and it came up negative.

Should the test have been ok? Or would all the antibodies in my blood been soaked up by the stick in the first 10 minutes? The tube was still red when I put the second stick in.

Thanks

Luke

[confused]

What test are you talking about, im completely cofused about an blood test you can do at home to test for celiac.

paula

[Luke987]

What test are you talking about, im completely cofused about an blood test you can do at home to test for celiac.

paula

Open Original Shared Link

[nora-n]

This is the test developed by Matti M

[oldsalt19]

Well basically, I used a home testing kit for celiac disease. When it came to putting the test stick in the tube I put it in the wrong way, so I flipped it over. For 10 minutes nothing came up (which by then should have) so I'm guessing because I put it in upside down I had ruined it. Luckily I had access to a second stick. I put it in and it came up negative.

Should the test have been ok? Or would all the antibodies in my blood been soaked up by the stick in the first 10 minutes? The tube was still red when I put the second stick in.

Thanks

Luke

Hi Luke.

While I'm not familiar with the Biocard, 37 years in a medical laboratory, may qualify me to provide some information.

It doesn't seem likely that a fairly full tube of blood would "use up" all the antibodies. Most "quick tests" of any sort that are any good have OBC, which is an acronym for "On Board Controls." This means that there will be two results, both on the same stick every time you do a test. One result will be positive or negative for the antibody. The other will be a "control" to verify that the test worked properly, no matter what the test results (negative or positive) for the antibody. Sometimes its a dot, or some sort of line or whatever the manufacturers designed. If this line or dot or whatever does not appear correctly according to the instructions, then the test result, whatever it is, is not reliable. Here in the US, I have been told the the government Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will not approve any "quick" test that does not have this feature. Also, the advert that you linked to states:

The Biocard Celiac Test is as accurate as tests performed in pathology laboratories

In my opinion, this may not be so. Here in the US, any medical analytical lab is inspected yearly by the state, and in addition, is sent unknown "proficiency testing" samples, usually 3 times per year, which the lab analyzes and reports the results back to the proficiency testing agencies. If the tested labs are not within a certain required range, then an inspector shows up at the lab without previous notice to find out what's wrong. There are certain "waived" tests that are not subject to as many rules, but the lab is still required to verify accuracy of these "waived" tests twice per year. I am told that similar regulations are in place throughout the world where medical care is up to snuff.

Home tests, if properly manufactured and designed, are a boon to medical self-care, but they are usually not equal in quality to professional laboratory procedures because of these strict regulations.

Hope this helps.