June 19, 2020

Combined Point of Care Nucleic Acid and Antibody Testing for SARS-CoV-2 a Prospective Cohort Study in Suspected Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Disease

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• [pre-print, not peer reviewed] Micochova et al. compared a combined rapid test (nucleic acid amplification on nose/throat swab and lateral flow assay antibody test on serum) suitable for point-of-care use with a composite gold standard on 45 patients with suspected moderate to severe COVID-19 disease. In days 1-7 of illness, sensitivity of the nucleic acid test alone was 79.2%, which increased to 100% when combined with the rapid antibody test. Specificity of the combined test in days 1-7 of illness was 90% (95% CI 55.5-99.7%). These results show a potentially promising point-of-care approach that improves sensitivity while maintaining relatively high specificity.  

Micochova et al. (June 18, 2020). Combined Point of Care Nucleic Acid and Antibody Testing for SARS-CoV-2 a Prospective Cohort Study in Suspected Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Disease. Pre-print downloaded June 19 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.16.20133157