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. 2020 Nov:132:104568.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104568. Epub 2020 Aug 4.

Unexpected diagnosis of COVID-19-associated disorders by SARS-CoV-2-specific serology

Hélène Péré  1 , Benoit Védie  2 , Raphaël Vernet  3 , Nathalie Demory  4 , Najiby Kassis  5 , Tristan Mirault  6 , Hélène Lazareth  7 , Geoffroy Volle  8 , Elsa Denoix  8 , David Lebeaux  9 , Isabelle Podglajen  10 , Laurent Bélec  1 , David Veyer  11
Affiliations

Unexpected diagnosis of COVID-19-associated disorders by SARS-CoV-2-specific serology

Hélène Péré et al. J Clin Virol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Facing the ongoing pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, there is an urgent need for serological assays identifying individuals with on-going infection as well as past coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). We herein evaluated the analytical performances of the CE IVD-labeled Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay (Des Plaines, IL, USA) carried out with the automated Abbott Architect™ i2000 platform at Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, using serum sample panels obtained from health-workers with COVID-19 history confirmed by positive nucleic acid amplification-based diagnosis and from patients randomly selected for whom serum samples were collected before the COVID-19 epidemic. The Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay showed sensitivity of 94 % and specificity of 100 %, demonstrating high analytical performances allowing convenient management of suspected on-going and past-infections. In addition, the SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity rates were compared in COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 free areas from our hospital. Thus, the frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG was around 10-fold higher in COVID-19 areas than COVID-19 free areas (75 % versus 8%; P < 0.001). Interestingly, several inpatients hospitalized in COVID-19 free areas suffering from a wide range of unexplained clinical features including cardiac, vascular, renal, metabolic and infectious disorders, were unexpectedly found seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG by systematic routine serology, suggesting possible causal involvement of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Taken together, these observations highlight the potential interest of SARS-CoV-2-specific serology in the context of COVID-19 epidemic, especially to assess past SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as possible unexpected COVID-19-associated disorders.

Keywords: Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay; COVID-19; Diagnosis; SARS-CoV-2; Serology.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay index values from pre-epidemic patients and seronegative health-workers.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive rate since onset of symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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