Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 7, 2025
Rapid Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Influenza Viruses A and B
Published on: January 30, 2017
Comparative diagnostic performance of rapid antigen detection tests for COVID-19 in a hospital setting
Bianca Bruzzone1, Vanessa De Pace1, Patrizia Caligiuri1
1Hygiene Unit, San Martino Policlinico Hospital - IRCCS for Oncology and Neurosciences, Genoa, Italy.
Background:
The availability of accurate and rapid diagnostic tools for COVID-19 is essential for tackling the ongoing pandemic. Our study aimed to quantify the performance of available antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) in a real-world hospital setting.
Methods:
In this retrospective analysis, the diagnostic performance of 7 Ag-RDTs was compared with real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay in terms of sensitivity, specificity and expected predictive values.
Results:
A total of 321 matched Ag-RDTreal-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction samples were analyzed retrospectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the Ag-RDTs was 78.7% and 100%, respectively. However, a wide range of sensitivity estimates by brand (66.0%-93.8%) and cycle threshold (Ct) cut-off values (Ct <25: 96.2%; Ct 30-35: 31.1%) was observed. The optimal Ct cut-off value that maximized sensitivity was 29.
Conclusions:
The routine use of Ag-RDTs may be convenient in moderate-to-high intensity settings when high volumes of specimens are tested every day. However, the diagnostic performance of the commercially available tests may differ substantially.
