The dark side of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing: screening asymptomatic patients

Several reports showed SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (RATs) performances among COVID-19 symptomatic subjects in outpatient settings during periods of highest incidence of infections and high rates of hospital admissions, but few data are present for asymptomatic patients. We investigated the role of RATs in an emergency department, as a novel screening tool before admission for COVID-19 asymptomatic patients. A total of 116 patients were screened on admission in a 250-bed community hospital in Morges, Switzerland. RAT detected 2/7 RT-PCR-positive patients and delivered two false-positive results. These data suggest the non-fiability of RATs screening in this clinical scenario. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

A study conducted in a community hospital in Switzerland showed that using RATs as a screening tool for COVID-19 asymptomatic patients in the emergency department was not reliable, with two false-positive results detected out of 116 patients screened.