Antigen and molecular testing using one swab: Lessons learned from a COVID-19 project
Rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection is essential in limiting transmission. We evaluated the performance of RT-PCR on the same nasopharyngeal swab used for Panbio antigen testing. High concordance with standard PCR and improved case detection-including asymptomatic infections-demonstrates this one-swab-two-test strategy enhances diagnostic yield while reducing patient discomfort and resource burden.
Authors
- David Bulir
- Nicole Smieja
- Sarah Marttala
- Katrina M. Waters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4696-5396)
- Jodi Gilchrist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2965-9007)
- Mohammad R. Hasan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2641-5741)
- Marek Smieja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1655-3761)
Institutions
- St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (CA)
- Hamilton Health Sciences (CA)
- McMaster University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
- Published
- 2025-11-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.117188
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00