SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid immunoassay for diagnosis of COVID-19 in the emergency department.
Martin MockelVictor Max CormanMiriam Songa StegemannJörg HofmannAngela SteinTerry C JonesPetra GastmeierJoachim SeyboldRalf OffermannUlrike BachmannTobias LindnerWolfgang BauerChristian DrostenAlexander RosenRajan SomasundaramPublished in: Biomarkers : biochemical indicators of exposure, response, and susceptibility to chemicals (2021)
We conclude that the use of AGTEST among symptomatic patients in the emergency setting is useful for the early identification of COVID-19, but patients who test negative require confirmation by PCRTEST and must stay isolated until this result becomes available. Adult patients with a false negative AGTEST and symptom onset at least one week earlier have typically a low SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration and are likely no longer infectious.