1. [Rapid point-of-care serology testing for sars-cov-2].
- Author
-
Stackelberg O, Esmaeilzadeh M, Olsen B, and Lundkvist Å
- Subjects
- COVID-19, COVID-19 Testing, Epidemiologic Studies, Humans, SARS-CoV-2, Sensitivity and Specificity, Time, Betacoronavirus immunology, Clinical Laboratory Techniques standards, Coronavirus Infections diagnosis, Coronavirus Infections immunology, Pandemics, Pneumonia, Viral diagnosis, Pneumonia, Viral immunology, Point-of-Care Systems standards
- Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) after covid-19, but it remains unclear for how long the protection remains. Serology testing seems to have a higher sensitivity than molecular diagnostics from 8 days after onset of symtoms, and should be part of risk assessment and epidemiological studies of COVID-19. The performance of commercial serological point-of-care (POC) lateral flow tests are highly manufacturer-dependant. Low sensitivity increases the risk of false negative results and could result in unnecessary quarantine of test persons with developed antibodies. Low specificity increases the risk of false positive results and could lead to false assumptions of immunity. Carefully selected serological POC tests for sars-cov-2 can be used in large scale testing but should only be used by licensed medical staff able to understand their limitations and interpret the results.
- Published
- 2020