Background The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread across the world. Hence, there is an urgent need for rapid, simple, and accurate tests to diagnose severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Performance characteristics of the rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test should be evaluated and compared with the gold standard real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for diagnosis of COVID-19 cases. Methods The rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test, Standard™ Q COVID-19 Ag kit (SD Biosensor®, Republic of Korea), was compared with the real-time RT-PCR test, Allplex™ 2019-nCoV Assay (Seegene®, Korea) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory specimens. Four hundred fifty-four respiratory samples (mainly nasopharyngeal and throat swabs) were obtained from COVID-19 suspected cases and contact individuals, including pre-operative patients at Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand during March–May 2020. Results Of 454 respiratory samples, 60 (13.2%) were positive, and 394 (86.8%) were negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by real-time RT-PCR assay. The duration from onset to laboratory test in COVID-19 suspected cases and contact individuals ranged from 0 to 14 days with a median of 3 days. The rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test’s sensitivity and specificity were 98.33% (95% CI, 91.06–99.96%) and 98.73% (95% CI, 97.06–99.59%), respectively. One false negative test result was from a sample with a high real-time RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct), while five false positive test results were from specimens of pre-operative patients. Conclusions The rapid assay for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection showed comparable sensitivity and specificity with the real-time RT-PCR assay. Thus, there is a potential use of this rapid and simple SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection test as a screening assay.

Introduction Evidence suggests that immediate extubation after liver transplantation provides graft and economic benefits without compromising patient outcomes. This study tried to determine the incidence of immediate extubation, demonstrate related factors, and develop a predictive model from the significant factors. Methods This retrospective descriptive study included 240 out of 271 liver transplantation patients in the hospital liver transplant registry between 2004 and 2016. Extubated and non‐extubated groups were statistically compared. Results The incidence of immediate extubation was 32.1%. It was associated with a MELD score ≤ 25 (adjusted OR, 5.17; 95% CI, 1.64–16.24; p = .005); packed red cells (PRC) transfusion ≤1600 ml (adjusted OR, 3.45; 95% CI, 1.82–6.53; p < .001); and no requirement for post‐operative vasopressors (adjusted OR, 5.83; 95% CI, 2.30–14.77; p < .001). The immediate‐extubation group had fewer complications and shorter hospital stays. A Siriraj Liver transplant Extubation Score (SLES) of 5 yielded the best prediction of safe immediate extubation. Conclusions An incidence of 32.1% was found for immediate extubation following liver transplantation. Associated factors were a MELD score ≤ 25, a lower amount of transfused blood, and no requirement for post‐operative vasopressors. An SLES score of 5 predicted safe immediate extubation.

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