Laboratory Assay Evaluation Demystified: A Review of Key Factors Influencing Interpretation of Test Results Using Different Assays for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Diagnosis.

ABSTRACT: Laboratory tests are an integral part of the diagnosis and management of patients; however, these tests are far from perfect. Their imperfections can be due to patient health condition, specimen collection, and/or technological difficulty with performing the assay and/or interpretation. To be useful clinically, testing requires calculation of positive predictive values (PPVs) and negative predictive values (NPVs). During the current global pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), multiple assays with unknown clinical sensitivity and specificity have been rapidly developed to aid in the diagnosis of the disease. Due to a lack of surveillance testing, the prevalence of COVID-19 remains unknown. Hence, using this situation as an clinical example, the goal of this article is to clarify

SUBMITTER: Pham HP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7454829 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature