Mononucleosis imitates many diseases so well that diagnosis is confirmed only by selective serologic testing. The Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test is an accurate, 2-minute disposable test designed to detect the presence of infectious mononucleosis antibodies in serum, plasma, or whole blood.

Principle of the Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test

The Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test consists of specially prepared, stable sheep and/or horse erythrocyte antigen (dyed) and guinea pig antigen on a disposable slide. When serum, plasma, or whole blood is mixed with these antigens on the slide, the test result for infectious mononucleosis will be positive or negative. A positive result is indicated by agglutination and a negative result is indicated by no agglutination.

Materials Required for Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test

To perform the Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test, the following materials are required:

Serum or plasma specimen

Monosticon DRI-DOT Test kit, which consists of:

-Monosticon DRI-DOT Test slides
-Positive I.M. (infectious mononucleosis) serum control

-Negative I.M. serum control
-Dropper bottle
-Dispenstirs(r) (designed to deliver a 0.03 ml drop)

Distilled water
Centrifuge
DRI-DOT slide holder (available commercially, but not necessary to perform test)

Controls for Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test

Both a positive and negative control are included in each kit to check the effectiveness of the reagents. The positive I.M. serum control (human) is a dilution of human sera (sing. serum) containing the specific heterophile antibody of infectious mononucleosis. The negative I.M. serum control (human) is a dilution of human sera containing no detectable antibody to infectious mononucleosis. Both controls have been dried and placed in a vial with color-coded cap and label. Since both controls are of human origin, they are potentially infectious and must be handled with care.

Both controls (positive and negative) should be tested before performing test with serum, plasma, or whole blood. Controls are prepared in the same manner as serum and plasma test described in the next section, but instead of adding serum or plasma to the slide, the control is added. Before each control is used, it must be reconstituted with 0.5 ml of distilled water. If results of the control tests are not as expected, do not use the test kit.

Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test Procedure
To detect mononucleosis using the Monosticon DRI-DOT Slide Test, follow the steps below.

1. Centrifuge the blood specimen for 10 minutes to obtain the plasma or serum to be tested.

2. Fill the dropper bottle with distilled water.
3. Remove the disposable slide by tearing the envelope where indicated. (Remove only enough slides to perform the tests at hand.)

4. Set the slide in a holder or on a flat surface.
5. Place one drop of water from the dropper bottle next to but not on the blue dot within the circle on the slide.

6. Use a Dispenstir to squeeze the closed end between thumb and forefinger, and place the open end into the plasma or serum to be tested. Release pressure to draw up the specimen into the Dispenstir.

7. Hold the Dispenstir perpendicularly over the buff-colored dot (guinea pig antigen) within the circle of the slide. Place one drop of specimen onto the dot.

8. Use the flared end of the Dispenstir to mix the water, specimen, and the guinea pig antigen (bluff-colored dot) thoroughly.

9. Blend this mixture thoroughly with the blue dot (horse/sheep antigen).

10. Rock the slide (or slide holder) back and forth gently in a figure-8 motion for 2 minutes so that the liquid slowly flows over the entire area within the circle.

11. After 2 minutes, read the results under a strong, glaring light.

12. Report test as
positive, if agglutination is present, or
negative, if no agglutination is present.
See figure 7-21 for an illustration of positive and negative test results.

NOTE: A positive test result usually occurs between the fourth day and the twenty-first day of illness, and may persist for several months.