Evaluation of the INDICAID™ COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test in symptomatic populations and asymptomatic community testing

Abstract

Background As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality, there is an increased need for rapid, accessible assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Methods Here we present a clinical evaluation and real-world implementation of the INDICAID COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test (INDICAID Rapid Test). A multi-site clinical evaluation of the INDICAID Rapid Test using prospectively collected samples from symptomatic subjects was performed. The INDICAID Rapid Test was then implemented at COVID-19 outbreak screening centers in Hong Kong to screen individuals for COVID-19 to prioritize confirmatory RT-PCR testing among asymptomatic populations. Results The clinical evaluation in symptomatic patient populations demonstrated a positive percent agreement and negative percent agreement of 85.3% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 75.6% - 91.6%) and 94.9% (95% CI: 91.6% - 96.9%), respectively, when compared to laboratory-based RT-PCR testing. When used during outbreak testing of 22,994 asymptomatic patients, the INDICAID Rapid Test demonstrated a positive percent agreement of 84.2% (95% CI: 69.6% - 92.6%) and a negative percent agreement of 99.9% (95% CI: 99.9% - 100%) compared to laboratory-based RT-PCR testing. When incorporated in a testing algorithm, the INDICAID Rapid Test reduced time to confirmatory positive result from an average 10.85 hours (standard RT-PCR only) to 0.84 hours, depending on the algorithm. Conclusion The INDICAID Rapid Test has excellent performance when compared to laboratory-based RT-PCR testing, and when used in tandem with RT-PCR, reduces the time to confirmatory positive result.

Performance characteristics of INDICAID antigen rapid diagnostic test on SARS-CoV-2 samples during the omicron wave in Cameroon

“…Samples for the INDICAID™ Ag-RDT were processed immediately on-site after collection with no storage as per the manufacturer's protocol. Results of the INDICAID™ Ag-RDT were interpreted by the test operators and recorded as "Positive," "Negative", or "Invalid" based on the visual presence or absence of the control and test lines on the developed test strip after 20 min [ [23] , [28] ].…”