Combination of a SARS-CoV-2 IgG Assay and RT-PCR for Improved COVID-19 Diagnosis.
Ann Lab Med
; 41(6): 568-576, 2021 Nov 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1264320
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is generally diagnosed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR or serological assays. The SARS-CoV-2 viral load decreases a few days after symptom onset. Thus, the RT-PCR sensitivity peaks at three days after symptom onset (approximately 80%). We evaluated the performance of the ARCHITECT® SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay (henceforth termed IgG assay; Abbott Laboratories, Lake County, IL, USA), and the combination of RT-PCR and the IgG assay for COVID-19 diagnosis.METHODS:
In this retrospective study, 206 samples from 70 COVID-19 cases at two hospitals in Tokyo that were positive using RT-PCR were used to analyze the diagnostic sensitivity. RT-PCR-negative (N=166), COVID-19-unrelated (N=418), and Japanese Red Cross Society (N=100) samples were used to evaluate specificity.RESULTS:
Sensitivity increased daily after symptom onset and exceeded 84.4% after 10 days. Specificity ranged from 98.2% to 100% for samples from the three case groups. Seroconversion was confirmed from 9 to 20 days after symptom onset in 18 out of 32 COVID-19 cases with multiple samples and from another case with a positive result in the IgG assay for the first available sample.CONCLUSIONS:
The combination of RT-PCR and IgG assay improves the robustness of laboratory diagnostics by compensating for the limitations of each method.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Immunoglobulin G
/
RNA, Viral
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Ann Lab Med
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Alm.2021.41.6.568
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