Rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2-a synopsis of the medical evidence.

Christoph Wertenauer, Caroline Pfeifer, Martin Roskos, Winfried März

Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease 2023 Oct

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SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to influence health, economy, and stability worldwide. Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 is important to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. With the commercial availability of certified antigen (Ag) rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which can be used to identify an infection with SARS-CoV-2 an easy-to-use tool was introduced. Self-tests can offer advantages to complement professionally administered rapid antigen detection or nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Compared to real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Ag-RDTs are cost inexpensive, do not need specialized laboratory equipment, facilitating high-throughput testing. However, Ag-RDT sensitivities are strongly dependent on the viral load within the specimen, which has limited their application in clinical settings so far. The methodical limitations of Ag-RDTs may produce false negative test results, particularly when specimens with low viral loads are examined. This may facilitate viral transmissions if protective measurements are lifted mistakenly. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Christoph Wertenauer, Caroline Pfeifer, Martin Roskos, Winfried März. Rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2-a synopsis of the medical evidence. Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease. 2023 Oct;107(2):116027