What is it about?
Rapid influenza diagnostic tests are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and can provide valuable information during a clinic visit. Unfortunately, a negative test result doesn't always rule out influenza. This paper explores various factors for why someone with influenza might receive a negative rapid antigen test.
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Why is it important?
A patient's age, symptoms, and how many days she has been sick might offer clues as to whether a clinician should trust a negative rapid influenza diagnostic test result. This has become an increasingly important topic with the growing popularity of rapid antigen tests following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perspectives
We started this manuscript before the COVID-19 pandemic, when rapid antigen tests were only used in clinical settings and many clinicians hadn't even heard of them. Today, they are a household name thanks to at-home SARS-COV-2 tests, and they are used to determine whether it's safe to visit a loved one or attend a gathering. But they aren't perfect. I hope that this article is one of many that helps to informs both clinicians and family members on how to best interpret rapid antigen test results.
Cristalyne Bell
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assessment of potential factors associated with the sensitivity and specificity of Sofia Influenza A+B Fluorescent Immunoassay in an ambulatory care setting, PLoS ONE, May 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268279.
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