Evaluation of three different rapid card tests for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen.

ABSTRACT

Rapid diagnostic card tests are crucial steps on the road to hepatitis B elimination and should be incorporated into diagnostic algorithms. However, all commercial rapid diagnostic card tests are not equal and require evaluation before clinical use. Thus, we aimed to compare the performance characteristics of three different rapid diagnostic card tests with chemiluminescence-based assay (CLIA) for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen.We concluded rapid diagnostic card tests can be used to identify patients with high signal/cut-off ratio on CLIA, but patients with signal/cut-off ratio <200 may be missed. Rapid diagnostic card tests may help pave the way for decentralised testing, but should be used only after evaluation in the community.