SARS-CoV-2 Testing Four Years On: Lessons Learned and Current Use Cases
This comprehensive CMR review evaluates SARS-CoV-2 testing technologies four years after the pandemic began, covering antigen, nucleic acid amplification, and serologic tests with updated performance data. The authors provide evidence-based guidance on current use case scenarios as the virus continues circulating beyond the formal public health emergency. Key debates addressed include appropriate test selection for clinical versus surveillance purposes and the role of home antigen testing in ongoing pandemic management.
The original study
Testing for SARS-CoV-2: lessons learned and current use cases.
- Authors
- Theel ES, Kirby JE, Pollock NR
- Journal
- Clinical microbiology reviews
- Type
- Journal Article, Review
- PMID
- 38488364
Original abstract
SUMMARYThe emergence and worldwide dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 required both urgent development of new diagnostic tests and expansion of diagnostic testing capacity on an unprecedented scale. The rapid evolution of technologies that allowed testing to move out of traditional laboratories and into point-of-care testing centers and the home transformed the diagnostic landscape. Four years later, with the end of the formal public health emergency but continued global circulation of the virus, it is important to take a fresh look at available SARS-CoV-2 testing technologies and consider how they should be used going forward. This review considers current use case scenarios for SARS-CoV-2 antigen, nucleic acid amplification, and immunologic tests, incorporating the latest evidence for analytical/clinical performance characteristics and advantages/limitations for each test type to inform current debates about how tests should or should not be used.