Next Article in Journal
Reply to Comment on “Environmental and Occupational Risk Factors of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study”
Next Article in Special Issue
A Universal Physics-Based Model Describing COVID-19 Dynamics in Europe
Previous Article in Journal
The Severity of Traumatic Stress Associated with COVID-19 Pandemic, Perception of Support, Sense of Security, and Sense of Meaning in Life among Nurses: Research Protocol and Preliminary Results from Poland
Previous Article in Special Issue
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children in Southern Italy: A Descriptive Case Series
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
Journals
IJERPH
Volume 17
Issue 18
10.3390/ijerph17186493
ijerph-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share announcement question_answer thumb_up
...
textsms
...
Article

The Light and Shadow of Rapid Serological Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results from a Study in a Large Emergency Department

by
Daniela Loconsole
1,†,
Francesca Centrone
1,†,
Caterina Morcavallo
1,
Silvia Campanella
1,
Anna Sallustio
2,
Michele Quarto
1,
Vito Procacci
3 and
Maria Chironna
1,*
1
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology-Hygiene Section, University of Bari, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy
2
Hygiene Unit, Policlinico Hospital, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy
3
Emergency Department, Policlinico Hospital, Piazza G. Cesare 11, 70124 Bari, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Daniela Loconsole and Francesca Centrone contributed equally to this work as first authors.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(18), 6493; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186493
Received: 22 July 2020 / Revised: 27 August 2020 / Accepted: 4 September 2020 / Published: 7 September 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe: Response to Challenges)
View Full-Text Download PDF

Abstract

A critical point in the management of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is the need to promptly identify the greatest number of infected people and to implement strict public health measures. In this study, the performance of a rapid serological test in a clinical setting was evaluated. Samples from 819 consecutive patients (with or without respiratory symptoms) admitted to a large Emergency Department were tested between 23 March and 21 April 2020. Patient samples were tested in a real-time PCR assay and a serological assay. In total, 148/819 patients (18.1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR. The serological test revealed that 70/819 patients (8.5%) had anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and/or IgG. The prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was significantly higher in patients with respiratory symptoms lasting for >7 days than in those with respiratory symptoms lasting for 0–7 days (p < 0.001). The serological assay had an overall sensitivity of 35.1% and an overall specificity of 97.3%. A high negative predictive value (96.7%) was reported for patients without respiratory symptoms. The results confirm that rapid serological assays alone are not sufficient for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection but can be incorporated into large-scale screening programs during periods in which the virus circulation is low. View Full-Text
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 infection; COVID-19; serological test; laboratory test; real-time PCR SARS-CoV-2 infection; COVID-19; serological test; laboratory test; real-time PCR
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Supplementary Material

SciFeed

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Loconsole, D.; Centrone, F.; Morcavallo, C.; Campanella, S.; Sallustio, A.; Quarto, M.; Procacci, V.; Chironna, M. The Light and Shadow of Rapid Serological Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results from a Study in a Large Emergency Department. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186493

AMA Style

Loconsole D, Centrone F, Morcavallo C, Campanella S, Sallustio A, Quarto M, Procacci V, Chironna M. The Light and Shadow of Rapid Serological Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results from a Study in a Large Emergency Department. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(18):6493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186493

Chicago/Turabian Style

Loconsole, Daniela, Francesca Centrone, Caterina Morcavallo, Silvia Campanella, Anna Sallustio, Michele Quarto, Vito Procacci, and Maria Chironna. 2020. "The Light and Shadow of Rapid Serological Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results from a Study in a Large Emergency Department" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 18: 6493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186493

Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

1
Back to TopTop