Evaluation of the Panbio COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test in Subjects Infected with Omicron Using Different Specimens

Abstract

This study showed that the antigen rapid test for COVID19 worked fine using nasal swabs when it was utilized in patients infected with the Omicron variant, showing a concordance with PCR in 93% of patients tested. The nasal swab yielded more reliable results than the oral swab when an antigen rapid diagnosis test (the Panbio COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic test) was used in patients infected with the Omicron variant.

Real-life evaluation of a rapid antigen test (DPP SARS-CoV-2 Antigen) for COVID-19 diagnosis of primary healthcare patients, in the context of the Omicron-dominant wave in Brazil

“…Here, we confirmed the Omicron (BA.1/BA.1.1) lineage in all samples eligible for genome sequencing. In line with our findings, recent studies reported no impact of Omicron on the limit of detection (LOD) ( 2 , 11 ) and the clinical performance ( 6 , 12 ) in other RAT models. Of interest, while BA.2 carries the same mutations in the nucleocapsid as the BA.1, further studies will be required to evaluate the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages, as they acquired the nucleocapsid S413R mutation.…”

Clinical practice of rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant: A single-center study in China

“…Most published studies evaluated RAT performance with different SARS-CoV-2 variants (including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron) using different specimens from different countries ( Galliez et al, 2022 ; Kyritsi et al, 2022 ; Hardick et al, 2022 ; Weishampel et al, 2022 ). Sporadic worldwide studies compared NAATs and RATs during the Omicron surge ( Schrom et al, 2022 ; Lin et al, 2022 ).…”

Clinical Performance of Self-Collected Nasal Swabs and Antigen Rapid Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Resource-Poor Settings

“…Our study was performed during high-transmission waves when the delta and omicron variants were predominant in Mozambique. Test manufactures have reported that emerging variants do not influence the performance of Ag-RDTs, because these detect nucleocapsid virus proteins while genetic variation of SARS-CoV-2 is mainly concentrated on the S gene [ 28 ]. Nevertheless, it has also been described that mutations affecting the spike protein can interfere with the binding of anti-nucleocapsid antibodies [ 28 ].…”

“…Test manufactures have reported that emerging variants do not influence the performance of Ag-RDTs, because these detect nucleocapsid virus proteins while genetic variation of SARS-CoV-2 is mainly concentrated on the S gene [ 28 ]. Nevertheless, it has also been described that mutations affecting the spike protein can interfere with the binding of anti-nucleocapsid antibodies [ 28 ]. Although with no statistical significance, a study conducted by Bayart et al (2022) found differences in Ag-RDTs sensitivity for delta and omicron variants, with sensitivity varying from 70.0 to 92.9% for delta and from 69.9 to 78.8% for omicron variant [ 29 , 30 ].…”