Sensitivity and specificity of a rapid test for assessment of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in a community-based setting in Brazil

  1. Lucia Campos Pellanda
  2. Eliana Márcia da Ros Wendland
  3. Alan John Alexander McBride
  4. Luciana Tovo-Rodrigues
  5. Marcos Roberto Alves Ferreira
  6. Odir Antônio Dellagostin
  7. Mariangela Freitas da Silveira
  8. Aluisio Jardim Dornellas de Barros
  9. Pedro Curi Hallal
  10. Cesar Gomes Victora
1 evaluations Published on
Read the full article Related papers
This article on Sciety

Abstract

Background

While the recommended laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 is a molecular based assay, population-based studies to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 usually use serological assays.

Objective

To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 compared to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Methods

We evaluated the sensitivity using a panel of finger prick blood samples from participants >18 years of age that had been tested for COVID-19 by qRT-PCR. For assessing specificity, we used serum samples from the 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort participants collected in 2012 with no exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Results

The sensitivity of the test was 77.1% (95% CI 66.6 - 85.6), based upon 83 subjects who had tested positive for qRT-PCR at least 10 days before the rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Based upon 100 sera samples, specificity was 98.0% (95% CI 92.9 - 99.8). There was substantial agreement (Kappa score 0.76) between the qRT-PCR results and the RDT.

Interpretation

The validation results are well in line with previous assessments of the test, and confirm that it is sufficiently precise for epidemiological studies aimed at monitoring levels and trends of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related articles

Related articles are currently not available for this article.