COVID-19 diagnostic tests: Importance of the clinical context()

The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses numerous health challenges, including the adequate use and proper interpretation of the different available tests in different clinical settings. As any diagnostic test, those of SARS-CoV-2 have methodological limitations of sensitivity (S) and specificity (E),...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Vila Muntadas, Marc, Agustí Sunyer, Inés, Agustí Garcia-Navarro, Alvar
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier España, S.L.U. 2021
Materias:
Review
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8324468/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34368460
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.medcle.2021.03.008
Descripción
Sumario:The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses numerous health challenges, including the adequate use and proper interpretation of the different available tests in different clinical settings. As any diagnostic test, those of SARS-CoV-2 have methodological limitations of sensitivity (S) and specificity (E), which eventually determine their positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive value. Furthermore, their diagnostic performance depends on the clinical context in which these tests are used, that is, on the pretest probability. This article: (1) reviews the main methodological aspects that influence the S, E, PPV and NPV of the most common SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests; and, (2) discusses its diagnostic interpretation in different clinical settings.

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