Clinical application of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag rapid test device and SSf-COVID19 kit for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Objective: We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag rapid test device using nasal swabs and those of the SSf-COVID19 kit, one of RT-PCR tests, using saliva specimens. These tests were compared with RT-PCR tests using nasopharyngeal swabs for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The three diagnostic tests were simultaneously conducted for patients aged ≥ 18 years, who were about to be hospitalized or had been admitted for COVID-19 confirmed by RT-PCR in two research hospitals from August 20 to October 29, 2021. Nasal swabs were tested using the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag rapid test device. More than 1 mL of saliva was self-collected and tested using the SSf-COVID19 kit. Results: In total, 157 patients were investigated; 124 patients who were about to be hospitalized and 33 patients already admitted for COVID-19. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag rapid test device with nasal swabs were 64.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 47.9–78.5%) and 100.0% (95% CI 97.0–100.0%), respectively. The median time to confirm a positive result was 180 s (interquartile range 60–255 s). The overall sensitivity and specificity of the SSf-COVID19 kit with saliva specimens were 94.1% (95% CI 80.9–98.4%) and 100.0% (95% CI 97.0–100.0%), respectively.