Discrepancy in Screening Performances of Different Rapid Test Kits for SARS-CoV-2; a Letter to Editor

Abstract

Point-of-care testing has always been an attractive modality to quickly confirm diagnosis in the emergency department (ED). This attribute is highly valuable during the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), where early diagnosis means quicker case detection and earlier isolation. Rapid test kits (RTKs) developed to diagnose COVID-19 utilised two types of assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection(1). Molecular assays detect antigen in the form of viral RNA or protein on the patient’s respiratory tract, whilst serology immunoassays are used to detect IgM and IgG antibodies in the blood. There are many RTKs available commercially, but reports on effectiveness are scarce. We share the results of our study, which evaluated three colloidal gold-based immunoassay RTKs available in our centre (Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia).

Keywords

• coronavirus
• pandemic
• point of care testing
• Pandemics; public health; point-of-care systems; emergencies; coronavirus; diagnosis