• Oh Joo Kweon, Joo Hee Lee, Yang-Seon Choi, Boo-Seop Kim, Yong Kwan Lim, Mi-Kyung Lee, Joung Ha Park, Ji Young Park, and Seong Hwan Kim.
• Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 May 30; 37 (21): e168.

AbstractDespite the accuracy of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), rapid antigen tests (RATs) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 are widely used as point-of-care tests. A total of 282 pairs of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Standard Q COVID-19 Ag tests were serially conducted for 68 patients every 3-4 days until their discharge. Through a field evaluation of RATs using direct nasopharyngeal swabs, the sensitivities were 84.6% and 87.3% for E and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genes, respectively, for specimens with cycle thresholds (Cts) < 25. The Ct values of E and RdRp genes for 95% detection rates by RATs were 16.9 and 18.1, respectively. The sensitivity of RAT was 48.4% after the onset of symptoms, which was not sufficient. RAT positivity gradually decreased with increased time after symptom onset and had continuously lower sensitivity than NAATs.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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