![]() Impaired performance of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests at elevated and low temperatures. This might be a greater concern when the tests are administered outside of clinical settings, eg if members of the general public store and use their test in their car in the winter.ġ. remind us that it is important to ensure that tests are stored and used within the temperature range specified by the manufacturer. However, the results reported by Haage et al. Given that most of the false positives in the current study were from 2 workplaces using the same batch of Abbott Panbio tests, it is possible the false positives observed were attributable to manufacturing issues, as suggested by the authors. reported that several commercially available rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 suffer reduced sensitivity when stored or used at temperatures above those recommended by the manufacturer, and most relevant to the current study, they also found that two-including Abbott's Panbio-were found to suffer reduced specificity when stored and used at temperatures colder than recommended by the manufacturer (1). In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Virology, Haage et al. Since all RADT-positive / RTPCR-negative samples were reported from 2 centers, it would be interesting to study the S and N gene mutations by analyzing the whole genome sequencing data of SARS CoV-2 strains from these geographical areas during the study period. Variants keep on emerging during an pandemic especially in immunocompromised patients and those variants not fit for long term survival are eliminated by process of natural selection. Preliminary results of the rapid assessment conducted by UK’s NHS and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) suggest that the accuracy of RADTs has not been impacted by the emergence of the Delta or Omicron variant. As a majority of Delta variant (B.1.617.2) mutations occur in S gene and other open reading frames (ORF), there are high chances that detection of these variants is missed by RTPCR targeting S/ORF genes, making RTPCR and less accurate reference standard. The authors assume that all RADT-positive/RTPCR-negative samples are false positives (42%).Īn important technical point missing from the discussion is that RADTs are mainly targeted at detecting the viral nucleocapsid protein coded by the N gene which in the Delta/ Omicron variant appears less divergent than the S gene expressing spike protein. ![]() This study reports that 1103 health care workers were RADT positive and that corresponding RTPCR was positive only in 641 (58%) cases. Shared Decision Making and Communication.Scientific Discovery and the Future of Medicine.Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment.Clinical Implications of Basic Neuroscience.Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography.
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