May 5, 2020

Evaluation of a COVID-19 IgM and IgG Rapid Test; an Efficient Tool for Assessment of Past Exposure to SARS-CoV-2

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• Hoffman et al. evaluated a commercially available test developed for rapid (<15 minutes) detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies – the COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette. Among 19 RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases and 124 negative controls, the authors estimated the assay to have 69% and 93.1% sensitivity for IgM and IgG, respectively. The assay specificities were 100% and 99.2%, respectively. These study results suggest that this serological test is suitable for assessing previous virus exposure, but that negative results may be unreliable during the first weeks after infection due to lower assay sensitivity for IgM antibodies. 

Hoffman et al. (April 14, 2020). Evaluation of a COVID-19 IgM and IgG Rapid Test; an Efficient Tool for Assessment of Past Exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2020.1754538