Accuracy of novel antigen rapid diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2: A living systematic review and meta-analysis

by Lukas E. Br ümmer, Stephan Katzenschlager, Mary Gaeddert, Christian Erdmann, Stephani Schmitz, Marc Bota, Maurizio Grilli, Jan Larmann, Markus A. Weigand, Nira R. Pollock, Aurélien Macé, Sergio Carmona, Stefano Ongarello, Jilian A. Sacks, Claudia M. Denkinger BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) are increasingly being integrated in testing strategies around the world. Studies of the Ag-RDTs have shown variable performance. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we assessed the clinical accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of commercially available Ag-RDTs. Methods and findingsWe registered the review on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020225140). We systematically searched multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, medRvix, bioRvix, and FIND) for publications evaluating the accuracy of Ag-RDTs for SARS-CoV-2 up until 30 April 2021. Descriptive analyses of all studies were performed, and when more than 4 studies were available, a random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled sensitivity and specificity in comparison to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. We assessed heterogeneity by subgroup analyses, and rated study quality and risk of bias using the QUADAS-2 assessment tool. From a total of 14,254 articles, we included 133 analytical and clinical studies resulting in 214 clinical accuracy datasets with 112,323 samples. Across all meta-analyzed samples, the pooled Ag-RDT sensi...
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research