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Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness

OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy and completeness of information provided by websites selling home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: All websites (n=27) selling direct to user home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19 (41 test...

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Autores principales: Taylor-Phillips, Sian, Berhane, Sarah, Sitch, Alice J, Freeman, Karoline, Price, Malcolm James, Davenport, Clare, Geppert, Julia, Harris, Isobel M, Osokogu, Osemeke, Skrybant, Magdalena, Deeks, Jonathan J
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7650079/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33158838
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042453
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author Taylor-Phillips, Sian
Berhane, Sarah
Sitch, Alice J
Freeman, Karoline
Price, Malcolm James
Davenport, Clare
Geppert, Julia
Harris, Isobel M
Osokogu, Osemeke
Skrybant, Magdalena
Deeks, Jonathan J
author_facet Taylor-Phillips, Sian
Berhane, Sarah
Sitch, Alice J
Freeman, Karoline
Price, Malcolm James
Davenport, Clare
Geppert, Julia
Harris, Isobel M
Osokogu, Osemeke
Skrybant, Magdalena
Deeks, Jonathan J
author_sort Taylor-Phillips, Sian
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy and completeness of information provided by websites selling home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: All websites (n=27) selling direct to user home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19 (41 tests) in the UK (39 tests) and USA (two tests) identified by a website search on 23 May 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thirteen predefined basic information items to communicate to a user, including who should be tested, when and how testing should be done, test accuracy, and interpretation of results. RESULTS: Many websites did not provide the name or manufacturer of the test (32/41; 78%), when to use the test (10/41; 24%), test accuracy (12/41; 29%), and how to interpret results (21/41; 51%). Sensitivity and specificity were the most commonly reported test accuracy measures (either reported for 27/41 [66%] tests): we could only link these figures to manufacturers’ documents or publications for four (10%) tests. Predictive values, most relevant to users, were rarely reported (five [12%] tests reported positive predictive values). For molecular virus tests, 9/23 (39%) websites explained that test positives should self-isolate, and 8/23 (35%) explained that test negatives may still have the disease. For antibody tests, 12/18 (67%) websites explained that testing positive does not necessarily infer immunity from future infection. Seven (39%) websites selling antibody tests claimed the test had a CE mark, when they were for a different intended use (venous blood rather than finger-prick samples). CONCLUSIONS: At the point of online purchase of home self-sampling COVID-19 tests, users in the UK are provided with incomplete, and, in some cases, misleading information on test accuracy, intended use, and test interpretation. Best practice guidance for communication about tests to the public should be developed and enforced for online sales of COVID-19 tests.
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spelling pubmed-76500792020-11-09 Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness Taylor-Phillips, Sian Berhane, Sarah Sitch, Alice J Freeman, Karoline Price, Malcolm James Davenport, Clare Geppert, Julia Harris, Isobel M Osokogu, Osemeke Skrybant, Magdalena Deeks, Jonathan J BMJ Open Infectious Diseases OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy and completeness of information provided by websites selling home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: All websites (n=27) selling direct to user home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19 (41 tests) in the UK (39 tests) and USA (two tests) identified by a website search on 23 May 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Thirteen predefined basic information items to communicate to a user, including who should be tested, when and how testing should be done, test accuracy, and interpretation of results. RESULTS: Many websites did not provide the name or manufacturer of the test (32/41; 78%), when to use the test (10/41; 24%), test accuracy (12/41; 29%), and how to interpret results (21/41; 51%). Sensitivity and specificity were the most commonly reported test accuracy measures (either reported for 27/41 [66%] tests): we could only link these figures to manufacturers’ documents or publications for four (10%) tests. Predictive values, most relevant to users, were rarely reported (five [12%] tests reported positive predictive values). For molecular virus tests, 9/23 (39%) websites explained that test positives should self-isolate, and 8/23 (35%) explained that test negatives may still have the disease. For antibody tests, 12/18 (67%) websites explained that testing positive does not necessarily infer immunity from future infection. Seven (39%) websites selling antibody tests claimed the test had a CE mark, when they were for a different intended use (venous blood rather than finger-prick samples). CONCLUSIONS: At the point of online purchase of home self-sampling COVID-19 tests, users in the UK are provided with incomplete, and, in some cases, misleading information on test accuracy, intended use, and test interpretation. Best practice guidance for communication about tests to the public should be developed and enforced for online sales of COVID-19 tests. BMJ Publishing Group 2020-11-06 /pmc/articles/PMC7650079/ /pubmed/33158838 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042453 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
spellingShingle Infectious Diseases
Taylor-Phillips, Sian
Berhane, Sarah
Sitch, Alice J
Freeman, Karoline
Price, Malcolm James
Davenport, Clare
Geppert, Julia
Harris, Isobel M
Osokogu, Osemeke
Skrybant, Magdalena
Deeks, Jonathan J
Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title_full Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title_fullStr Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title_full_unstemmed Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title_short Information given by websites selling home self-sampling COVID-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
title_sort information given by websites selling home self-sampling covid-19 tests: an analysis of accuracy and completeness
topic Infectious Diseases
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7650079/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33158838
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042453
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