Auxiliary Screening COVID-19 by Serology

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Immunology
• Public Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates improved detection rates for effective control.
• Serological screening methods are crucial auxiliary tools for identifying infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the characteristics of serological auxiliary screening methods for COVID-19.
• To summarize real-world data on the diagnostic performance of these tests.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis of 62 studies involving 35,775 participants.
• Searched major scientific databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, etc.) up to May 2022.
• Calculated diagnostic accuracy metrics including AUC and diagnostic odds ratio (dOR).

Main Results:

• Pooled AUC for IgG and IgM predicting COVID-19 diagnosis were 0.974 and 0.928, respectively.
• The diagnostic odds ratio (dOR) for IgG was 209.78 and for IgM was 78.17.
• High diagnostic performance indicates strong predictive capabilities for both antibody types.

Conclusions:

• Serum-specific antibody detection, particularly IgG and IgM, is a key auxiliary screening strategy for COVID-19.
• These serological tests are valuable for real-world COVID-19 infection detection and management.