Rapid antigen test as a screening tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection: Head-to-head comparison with qRT-PCR in Ethiopia.
Heliyon
; 10(1): e23518, 2024 Jan 15.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38169801
ABSTRACT
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) as a screening tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Methods:
This study was conducted at six referral hospitals in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. One thousand seven hundred twenty-one patients who visited the hospitals for various medical conditions were tested with qRT-PCR and/or Ag-RDTs. Qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen was performed using the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag rapid test device.Results:
Compared with qRT-PCR, Ag-RDTs had a sensitivity of 33.3 % (95%CI 30.9%-35.9 %) and a specificity of 99.3 % (95%CI 98.8%-99.7 %) to detect active SARS-CoV-2 infection. The area under the receiver operator curve was 0.67 (95%CI 0.63-0.69). The sensitivity of Ag-RDTs appeared high in patients with shortness of breath (73.3 %) and those presenting with all three symptoms - fever, cough, and dyspnea (71.4 %). In all instances, specificity was more than 98 %. The Ag-RDT positivity rate also correlated well with viral load 51.7 % in cases with cycle threshold (Ct) < 25 (high viral load) and only 3.4 % when Ct > 25 (low viral load).Conclusion:
Although Ag-RDT for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 is a good option as a point-of-care screening tool, it has a low sensitivity to detect active infections. Using Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid test for diagnostic and treatment decisions may lead to a false negative, resulting in patient misdiagnosis, ultimately contributing to disease spread and poor patient outcome.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Screening_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Heliyon
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Etiopia