Antigen tests usually provide results diagnosing an active coronavirus infection faster than molecular tests, but antigen tests have a higher chance of missing an active infection. If an antigen test shows a negative result indicating that you do not have an active coronavirus infection, your health care provider may order a molecular test to confirm the result.
Diagnosis of acute COVID-19 is typically made using standard RT-PCR, which requires specialized materials, equipment, personnel, and transportation to a centralized laboratory. Due to these intricacies, interest in rapid molecular and antigen tests that typically result in an hour or less tests for SARS-CoV-2 identification has been high since the beginning of the pandemic. There are 2 major categories of rapid tests: SARS-CoV-2 rapid molecular tests (e.g., RT-PCR or RT-LAMP), and SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test. The rapid antigen tests are most often antibody-based to capture SARS-CoV-2 antigens (typically N protein); the rapid molecular tests detect viral RNA.
Rapid molecular and antigen tests differ from standard RT_PCR’s in several ways. They offer the potential to improve access to testing through point-of-care assays and to improve efficiency by reducing process steps between sample collection and results. Some rapid tests also negate the need for a central laboratory and specialized equipment. The sample type for rapid tests is a mid-turbinate or nasal swab, rather than a nasopharyngeal swab; this may be a more acceptable to patients. Rapid tests may ultimately contribute to better SARS-CoV-2 containment via more efficient detection and subsequent isolation. As a result, some hospitals are using or considering the use of rapid tests as part of their SARS-CoV-2 testing algorithms.
As noted above, rapid tests may detect either nucleic acid or viral antigens. Early evaluations of COVID-19 antigen tests show similar specificity to standard RT-PCRs, but inferior sensitivity evaluations of rapid molecular tests show similar specificity to standard RT-PCR tests, and similar sensitivity. These studies are primarily early-stage evaluations of variable quality that utilize laboratory remnant samples; performance may also be impacted by viral load and timing of testing with relation to acquisition of infection, and sampling variability. These limitations are similar tom those of standard RT-PCR, but an important difference in rapid antigen testing in particular is that some studies have shown that persons who have symptoms for more than 5 days may no longer have antigen at the level of detection. Uncertainty remains about how the rapid tests will perform in real-life clinical space, particularly among asymptomatic patients, about whom data is limited.
Rapid antigen and molecular tests may differ in their performance characteristics, and so it is not possible to extrapolate the evaluation of a specific rapid test to others. Until more reliable and positive data is available on the use of these tests in clinical settings, standard RT-PCR will likely remain the gold standard used to diagnose acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, in specific scenarios a rapid test may be a reasonable initial screening test; these include situations where rapid isolation is important, such as in congregate settings, or instances where a symptomatic person has had a known contact with someone who known to have COVID-19.
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Antigent Test Explained
• An antigen test reveals if a person is currently infected with a pathogen such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• Clinical Study Results – Detection Sensitivity 98.72%, Specificity 97.32%
• The kit uses immunocapture method; it is designed to detect the presence of absence of SARS-COV-2 nucleocapsid proteins in respiratory samples from patients with signs and symptoms of infection who are suspected of COVID-19
• Easy to collect samples, simple operation, without professional equipment
• Test results are available in 15 minutes, and the test results are clearly visible
• Convenient transportation and low price, higher accuracy
• Suitable for large-scale rapid screening