Authors: Turner R, Farajzadeh J, St. Denis E, Jackson J, Yukutake K, Valles-Ayoub Y, Beqaj S, Pietruszka M.
COVID-19 is an acute respiratory disease that has profoundly affected the way we test for disease and monitor viral infection. COVID-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS CoV-2. This virus is rapidly spread from person to person through contact with sputum particles, even when the infected individual is asymptomatic. Testing for the disease relies heavily on PCR molecular assays, and during the COVID-19, pandemic at-home rapid antigen test kits became widely available to improve the convenience of diagnosing the disease and increase the access to testing capabilities. COVID-19 rapid antigen kits have been a cornerstone of COVID-19 testing as a supplement for PCR testing. Rapid antigen kits can determine the presence of SARS CoV-2 using a lateral flow assay that targets the nucleocapsid protein of the virus for a qualitative result. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the rapid antigen kit by analyzing 105 rapid antigen results and comparing them with Quant Studio 12 PCR cycle threshold values. The results indicate that the lateral flow assay can detect SARS CoV-2 in samples that have a cycle threshold of 28.92 out of 40 cycles. Relative to other at-home antigen kits, the findings in this study imply that this kit is especially sensitive and able to detect low levels of viral load within patients.
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