TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluation of the Panbio™ COVID-19 ag rapid test at an emergency room in a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil JO - The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases T2 - AU - Faíco-Filho,Klinger Soares AU - Júnior,Francisco Estivallet Finamor AU - Moreira,Luiz Vinícius Leão AU - Lins,Paulo Ricardo Gessolo AU - Justo,Alberto Fernando Oliveira AU - Bellei,Nancy SN - 14138670 M3 - 10.1016/j.bjid.2022.102349 DO - 10.1016/j.bjid.2022.102349 UR - https://www.bjid.org.br/en-evaluation-panbio-covid-19-ag-rapid-articulo-S141386702200037X AB - BackgroundThe performance characteristics of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test was evaluated at an emergency room setting against RT-PCR, considered the gold-standard for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, in São Paulo, Brazil. The study aimed to determine the sensitivity, specificity, Positive Percent Agreement (PPA), and Negative Percent Agreement (NPA) as compared to RT-PCR. MethodsSpecimens from 127 suspected patients were tested by both the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test and by RT-PCR. ResultsIn relation to RT-PCR using Ct values ≤ 40 as the upper limit for positivity, the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test showed an overall sensitivity of 84.3% (95% CI 75‒93.8%) and 98.2% (95% CI 96‒98.8%) overall specificity. For Ct values ≤ 25 (n = 37), the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test showed 97% sensitivity. DiscussionThe concordance between the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test and RT-PCR was 97% at Ct values below 25 but decreased at higher Ct values. For disease control, it is very important to identify infected individuals who present COVID-19 symptoms and also those who are suspected of infection due to contact with infected individuals. ConclusionThe Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag test is suitable for use as a diagnostic test for rapid screening of patients presenting COVID-19 symptoms, or those suspected of being infected, prior to being admitted to hospital. ER -