TABLE 2.
Meta‐analyses of false‐negative rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 RT‐PCR testing
| N studies | False‐negative rate | 95%CI | I 2 | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| False‐negative rate | |||||
| Overall | 32 | 0.12 | 0.10–0.14 | 96.2% | <.0001 |
| Study design | |||||
| Accuracy | 15 | 0.14 | 0.10–0.18 | 92.7% | <.0001 |
| Cohort | 17 | 0.12 | 0.10–0.14 | 97.4% | <.0001 |
| Age | |||||
| Adult | 28 | 0.12 | 0.10–0.14 | 96.4% | <.0001 |
| Child | 1 | 0.10 | 0.04–0.21 | Na | Na |
| Adult +child | 3 | 0.09 | 0.04–0.14 | Na | Na |
| Time interval between initial negative to positive PCR | |||||
| >3 days | 6 | 0.02 | 0.01–0.03 | 75.9% | <.0001 |
| <=3 days | 6 | 0.28 | 0.14–0.43 | 96.4% | <.0001 |
| Not reported | 20 | 0.14 | 0.12–0.17 | 96.05% | <.0001 |
| Type of specimen | |||||
| Throat swab | 7 | 0.13 | 0.08–0.18 | 95% | <.0001 |
| Nasopharyngeal | 5 | 0.03 | 0.01–0.04 | 90.8% | <.0001 |
| Pharyngeal | 3 | 0.16 | 0.02–0.3 | Na | Na |
| Mix (nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal or others) | 12 | 0.17 | 0.13–0.21 | 95.6% | <.0001 |
| Not reported | 5 | 0.26 | 0.07–0.45 | 96% | <.0001 |
| Country | |||||
| China | 19 | 0.24 | 0.18–0.29 | 96% | <.0001 |
| Others | 13 | 0.04 | 0.03–0.06 | 90.9% | <.0001 |
Abbreviations: FN, false negative; NA, not availableNR, not reported.