Skip to main content
. 2020 Jun 25;2020(6):CD013652. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013652

2. Test sensitivity by time since onset of symptoms.

  Days 1‐7 Days 8‐14 Days 15‐21 Days 22‐35 Days > 35 Comparison
  Test groups [studies] (true positives/COVID cases)
Sensitivity (95% CI)
 
IgG 33 [23] (165/568) 34 [22] (766/1200) 34 [22] (974/1110) 20 [12] (417/502) 11 [4] (213/252)  
  29.7% (22.1 to 38.6) 66.5% (57.9 to 74.2) 88.2% (83.5 to 91.8) 80.3% (72.4 to 86.4) 86.7% (79.6 to 91.7) P < 0.00005
IgM 34 [24] (207/608) 32 [21] (724/1171) 32 [21] (800/1074) 19 [11] (378/507) 11 [4] 118/215  
  23.2% (14.9 to 34.2) 58.4% (45.5 to 70.3) 75.4% (64.3 to 83.8) 68.1% (55.0 to 78.9) 53.9% (38.4 to 68.6) P < 0.00005
IgA 4 [4] (54/100) 3 [3] (38/53) 3 [3] (66/68) 2 [2] (81/82) 1 [1] (23/23)  
  28.4% (0.9 to 94.3) 78.1% (9.5 to 99.2) 98.7% (39.0 to 100) 98.7% (91.9 to 99.8) 100% (85.2 to 100) *
Total antibodies 5 [4] (62/144) 6 [5] (220/247) 6 [5] (174/176) 4 [3] (11/19) 2 [1] (15/28)  
  24.5% (9.5 to 50.0) 84.0% (64.1 to 93.9) 98.1% (90.1 to 99.6) 69.5% (34.8 to 90.7) 79.0% (49.8 to 93.4) P < 0.00005
IgG/IgM 17 [9] (81/259) 21 [9] (441/608) 21 [9] (636/692) 16 [5] (146/152) 9 [2] (122/153)  
  30.1% (21.4 to 40.7) 72.2% (63.5 to 79.5) 91.4% (87.0 to 94.4) 96.0% (90.6 to 98.3) 77.7% (66.0 to 86.2) P < 0.00005
IgA/IgG 1 [1] (0/12) 1 [1] (5/10) 1 [1] (7/8) 1 [1] (1/1) 0 [0]  
  0% (0 to 26.5) 50.0% (18.7 to 81.3) 87.5% (47.3 to 99.6) 100% (2.5 to 100)   *
IgA/IgM 0 [0] 0 [0] 0 [0] 0 [0] 0 [0]  
CI: confidence interval; * inadequate data to make a formal statistical comparison