Identification of contagious SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals by Roche’s Rapid Antigen Test
- 15 February 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH in cclm
- Vol. 60 (5), 778-785
- https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2021-1276
Abstract
Objectives Rapid antigen tests (RAT) can provide valuable information on the presence or absence SARS-CoV-2 within 15 min without the need of a laboratory. The analytical and diagnostic characteristics of available RATs has led to the question whether they can safely distinguish between infectious and non-infectious patients in an acute care setting. Methods Three nasopharyngeal swabs for the analysis by RAT, reverse transcriptase real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and a cell culture based infection assay were collected from 67 patients that presented to the emergency department of the University Hospital of Graz (Austria). The first swab was used for on-site RAT testing in the emergency department using the Roche SARS-CoV-2 RAT. The second swab was sent to the central laboratory of the hospital for RT-qPCR with two independent methods (Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assay and Roche Cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test) and repeat RAT testing using the same commercial test. With the third swab a cell culture-based infection assay was performed. Results The RATs performed from independent samples showed substantial agreement (Cohen’s-kappa: 0.73, p<0.001). All patients with a positive RAT had positive RT-qPCR with cycle threshold (ct) values 25 did not induce cytopathic effects that were related to SARS-CoV-2. The infection assays from four RAT-negative patients showed cytopathic effects that were induced by other pathogens. Conclusions The SARS-CoV-2 RAT from Roche Diagnostics is a valuable tool for managing symptomatic patients. RAT-negative patients may be regarded as non-contagious.Keywords
Funding Information
- Roche Diagnostics
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Author Correction: Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019Nature, 2020
- Evaluation of a novel antigen-based rapid detection test for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samplesInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2020
- Clinical Evaluation of Self-Collected Saliva by Quantitative Reverse Transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR), Direct RT-qPCR, Reverse Transcription–Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification, and a Rapid Antigen Test To Diagnose COVID-19Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2020
- Variation in False-Negative Rate of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction–Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since ExposureAnnals of Internal Medicine, 2020
- Multicenter Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 TestJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2020
- Low performance of rapid antigen detection test as frontline testing for COVID-19 diagnosisJournal of Clinical Virology, 2020
- Clinical testing for COVID-19Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2020
- Development and Potential Usefulness of the COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip Diagnostic Assay in a Pandemic ContextFrontiers in Medicine, 2020
- Viral RNA load as determined by cell culture as a management tool for discharge of SARS-CoV-2 patients from infectious disease wardsEuropean Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2020
- Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019Nature, 2020