Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33609774›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2021

Comparative evaluation of four SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests in hospitalized patients.

Lis Thommes, Francesco Robert Burkert, Karla-Wanda Öttl, David Goldin, Lorin Loacker, Lukas Lanser, Andrea Griesmacher, Igor Theurl, Günter Weiss, Rosa Bellmann-Weiler

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Rapid, point-of-care antigen tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022
    Pooled it
  2. Guideline
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Evaluation of CLINITEST® Rapid Covid-19 + Influenza antigen test in a cohort of symptomatic patients in an emergency department.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2024
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. ESCMID COVID-19 guidelines: diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Rapid, Cheap, and Effective COVID-19 Diagnostics for Africa.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Review
  17. Clinical evaluation of rapid point-of-care antigen tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2021
    Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Lis ThommesDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Francesco Robert BurkertDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Karla-Wanda ÖttlDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
David GoldinDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Lorin LoackerCentral Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria.
Lukas LanserDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Andrea GriesmacherCentral Institute for Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnosis, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria.
Igor TheurlDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Günter WeissDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: guenter.weiss@i-med.ac.at.
Rosa Bellmann-WeilerDepartment of Internal Medicine II, Infectious Disease, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pneumology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: rosa.bellmann-weiler@i-med.ac.at.
Innsbruck Medical University · ATUniversity Hospital Innsbruck · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesRapid identification of infected subjects is a cornerstone for controlling a pandemic like the current one with the SARS-CoV-2. Easy to handle antigen tests can provide timely results, which is of particular importance in a primary care setting. However, concerns exist regarding their sensitivity, which led us to evaluate four commercially available tests in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

methodsWe analyzed in parallel nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs from 154 consecutive patients admitted to our department with moderate to severe COVID-19, using quantitative RT-PCR (Cobas, Roche) and up to four antigen tests from different distributors. Antigen test results were linked to Ct (cycle threshold) values as markers for patients' infectivity.

resultsWe found that two out of four antigen tests correctly identified subjects with high viral loads (Ct≤25), and three out of four tests detected more than 80% of subjects with a Ct≤30, which is considered the threshold for infectivity. However, one test investigated had a poor clinical performance. When investigating subjects with Ct values >30, we found that the antigen test was still positive in up to 45% of those cases.

conclusionMost antigen tests had a sufficient sensitivity to identify symptomatic subjects infected with SARS-CoV-2 and with transmissible infection. On the other hand, antigen testing may not be suitable to identify loss of infectivity in COVID-19 subjects during follow-up. Newly introduced antigen tests need to be validated in a clinical or primary care setting to define their clinical usefulness.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Serological TestingAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAntigens, ViralCOVID-19COVID-19 Nucleic Acid TestingFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedNasopharynxSARS-CoV-2Young AdultAntigens, ViralAntigen testCOVID-19Ct valuesInfectivityRT-PCRSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33609774
PMCPMC7888994
OpenAlexW3130532198

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.