Full title: CORSER-2A study group. High negative predictive value of RT-PCR in patients with high likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Infect Dis Now
Galmiche S, Fernandes-Pellerin S, Ungeheuer MN, Schwartz O, Attia M, Hoen B
SARS-CoV-2 epidemic mitigation efforts rely on effective tests that should have a high negative predictive value to accurately exclude SARS-CoV-2 infection when the test is negative. A systematic review, despite the large heterogeneity, showed the rate of false negative results of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests could range from 1.8% to 58% [1]. France faced a major SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the spring of 2020, with 5.3% of the population estimated to have been infected by May 2020 [2], thus bringing the pre-test probability of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests to high levels during this period. We aimed to estimate the negative predictive value of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR in patients with a high pre-test probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
More information at doi: 10.1016/j.idnow.2021.11.005