Table 1.
COVID-19 testing strategies74
| Test | Target | Use | Speed | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV | NPV | Manufacturer(s)† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RT-PCR | Viral RNA | Active virus | 2–12 hours | Gold standard (100%) | Gold standard (100%) | 100% | 100% | Roche, Abbott, and LabCorp120, 121, 122 |
| Isothermal nucleic acid amplification test | Viral RNA | Active virus | 5–15 minutes | >94.7% | >98.6% | >78.1% | >99.7% | Abbott123,124 |
| Viral antigen test | Antigen | Active virus | 15 minutes | 80% | 100% | 100%‡ | 99%‡ | Quidel125 |
| Lateral flow assay | Antigen | Active virus | 15 minutes | 97.1% | 98.5% | 77.3% | 99.8% | Abbott126 |
| Lateral flow assay | Total binding antibodies | Immunity | <1 hour | 93.8-100% | 96%–98.8% | 55.2%–80.8% | 99.7%–100% | Cellex and Assure127,128 |
| Chemiluminescence immunoassay | Total binding antibodies | Immunity | 30 minutes | 97.6%–100% | 99% | 84%–88% | 100% | Abbott and DiaSorin129,130 |
| Enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay | Total binding antibodies | Immunity | <1 hour | 92.5% | 99%–100% | 100% | 99.6% | Mount Sinai and InBios131,132 |
| Surrogate virus neutralization test | Neutralizing antibodies | Immunity | 1 hour | 95%–100% | 100% | 100%‡ | 99.9%‡ | GenScript Biotech133 |
NPV = negative predictive value; PPV = positive predictive value; RT-PCR = reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.
†
Not an exhaustive list.
‡
Assuming 5% prevalence.