Evaluation of Flu A/B, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV Antigen Combo Rapid Test in Hospitalized Children Under Two Years of Age.
Rapid antigen combo test detected respiratory syncytial virus in hospitalized infants with 90% sensitivity.
Evaluation of Flu A/B, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV Antigen Combo Rapid Test in Hospitalized Children Under Two Years of Age.
Next to malaria, respiratory viruses, particularly respiratory syncytial virus (respiratory syncytial virus), are responsible for the hospitalization and death of thousands of young children each year in sub-Saharan Africa.
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical performance of a lateral flow assay (lateral flow assay) based antigen combo rapid diagnostic test (ML Ag Combo RDT, manufactured by MobiLab) that detects respiratory syncytial virus, influenza viruses A and B (Flu A/B), and SARS-CoV-2.
The Allplex panel 1 rRT-qPCR assay was used as a reference assay to evaluate the clinical performance of the lateral flow assay Ag Combo RDT in pediatric hospital settings.
correctly identified respiratory syncytial virus in 9 of 10 truly infected infants
Agreement with the Allplex panle1 1 rRT-qPCR was strong (κ = 0.90 for respiratory syncytial virus) and moderate (κ = 0.45 for Flu A/B), with overall accuracies of 96.63% for respiratory syncytial virus and 95.5 for Flu A/B.
This was further supported by ROC analysis for aggregated data (respiratory syncytial virus and, Flu A/B) with an AUC value of 0.925.
As expected, in samples with high viral loads (Ct < 20), the Ag Combo RDT achieved 100% sensitivity for respiratory syncytial virus and Flu A/B.
Sensitivity declined slightly at lower viral loads (Ct > 35).
The ML Ag Combo RDT demonstrates high specificity and diagnostic accuracy for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus and Flu A/B in pediatric hospital settings where timely diagnosis is critical.