Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2021 Oct 19;59(11):e0141121.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01411-21. Epub 2021 Jul 21.

Multicenter Postimplementation Assessment of the Positive Predictive Value of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-Based Point-of-Care Tests Used for Screening of Asymptomatic Continuing Care Staff

Jamil N Kanji  1   2   3   4 , Dustin T Proctor  4   5 , William Stokes  2   3   6 , Byron M Berenger  2   4 , James Silvius  7 , Graham Tipples  2   8   9 , A Mark Joffe  6   10 , Allison A Venner  4   5
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Multicenter Postimplementation Assessment of the Positive Predictive Value of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-Based Point-of-Care Tests Used for Screening of Asymptomatic Continuing Care Staff

Jamil N Kanji et al. J Clin Microbiol. .

Abstract

Frequent screening of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among asymptomatic populations using antigen-based point-of-care tests (APOCTs) is occurring globally with limited clinical performance data. The positive predictive value (PPV) of two APOCTs used in the asymptomatic screening of SARS-CoV-2 among health care workers (HCWs) at continuing care (CC) sites across AB, Canada, was evaluated. Between 22 February and 2 May 2021, CC sites implemented SARS-CoV-2 voluntary screening of their asymptomatic HCWs. On-site testing with Abbott Panbio or BD Veritor occurred on a weekly or twice-weekly basis. Positive APOCTs were confirmed with a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) reference method. A total of 71,847 APOCTs (17,689 Veritor and 54,158 Panbio) were performed among 369 CC sites. Eighty-seven (0.12%) APOCTs were positive, of which 39 (0.05%) were confirmed as true positives using rRT-PCR. Use of the Veritor and Panbio resulted in 76.6% and 30.0% false-positive detection, respectively (P < 0.001). This corresponded to PPVs of 23.4 and 70.0% for the Veritor and Panbio, respectively. Frequent screening of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic HCWs in CC, using APOCTs, resulted in a very low detection rate and a high rate of detection of false positives. Careful assessment of the risks versus benefits of APOCT programs and the prevalence of infection in this population needs to be thoroughly considered before implementation.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 antigen; point of care; positive predictive value; sensitivity.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Health Canada. 2021. Priority strategies to optimize testing and screening for COVID-19 in Canada: report. Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/co.... Accessed 17 May 2021.
    1. Dinnes J, Deeks JJ, Berhane S, Taylor M, Adriano A, Davenport C, Dittrich S, Emperador D, Takwoingi Y, Cunningham J, Beese S, Domen J, Dretzke J, Ferrante di Ruffano L, Harris IM, Price MJ, Taylor-Phillips S, Hooft L, Leeflang MM, McInnes MD, Spijker R, Van den Bruel A, Cochrane COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Accuracy Group. 2021. Rapid, point-of-care antigen and molecular-based tests for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 3:CD013705. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013705.pub2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crozier A, Rajan S, Buchan I, McKee M. 2021. Put to the test: use of rapid testing technologies for covid-19. BMJ 372:n208. doi:10.1136/bmj.n208. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu M, Arora RK, Krajden M. 2021. Rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2. CMAJ 193:E447. doi:10.1503/cmaj.202827. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 19 March 2021. COVID-19 pandemic planning scenarios. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html. Accessed 17 May 2021.

Publication types