Rev Esp Quimioter 2020; 33(4): 258-266

Utility of lateral flow tests in SARS-CoV-2 infection monitorization   

FRANCISCO JAVIER CANDEL GONZÁLEZ, JOSÉ MANUEL VIÑUELA-PRIETO, JUAN GONZÁLEZ DEL CASTILLO, PABLO BARREIRO GARCÍA, MARCOS FRAGIEL SAAVEDRA, ALBA HERNÁNDEZ PÍRIZ, DAVID JIMÉNEZ VIRUMBRALES, JESÚS CANORA LEBRATO, GONZALO GARCÍA DE CASASOLA, RUTH GIL PRIETO, JESÚS SAN-ROMÁN MONTERO, JUSTO ORTEGA ANSELMI, RAQUEL BARBA MARTÍN, FERNANDO PRADOS ROA, JAVIER MARCO MARTÍNEZ, ANTONIO ZAPATERO GAVIRIA

Published: 4 June 2020

http://www.doi.org/10.37201/req/052.2020

Introduction. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for medical and public health reasons, to allow the best treatment of cases and the best control of the pandemic. Serology testing allows for the detection of asymptomatic infections and 19-COVID cases once the virus has been cleared. We analyzed the usefulness of the SARS-CoV-2 rapid test of Autobio and tried to correlate its pattern with the severity of COVID19 infection.
Material and methods. We analyzed the accuracy and clinical usefulness of a point-of-care IgM and/or IgG test for SARS-CoV-2 in 35 COVID-19 patients [12 (34.3%) mild-moderate and 23 (65.7%) severe-critical] admitted to a field hospital in Madrid, as well as in 5 controls.
Results. The mean time from the first day of symptoms to the antibody test was 28 days (SD: 8.7), similar according to the severity of the disease. All patients with SARS-CoV-2 PCR+ showed the corresponding IgG positivity, while these results were negative in all control individuals. A total of 26 (74%) cases also presented with positive IgM, 19 (83%) were severe-critical cases and 7 (58%) were mild-moderate cases. The IgM response lasted longer in the severe critical cases (mean: 29.7 days; SD: 8.4) compared to the moderate cases (mean: 21.2 days; SD: 2.0).
Conclusions. Rapid serology tests are useful for the diagnosis of patients with COVID-19 (mainly IgG detection) and may also be correlated with the severity of the infection (based on IgM detection).

Rev Esp Quimioter 2020; 33(4): 258-266 [Full-text PDF]