key: cord-0797182-2cnlw04r
authors: Peacock, Frank W.; Dzieciatkowski, Tomasz; Chirico, Francesco; Szarpak, Lukasz
title: Self-testing with antigen tests as a method for reduction SARS-CoV-2
date: 2021-05-06
journal: Am J Emerg Med
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.010
sha: a9279593fee4e0f84ad7a138d5f2f2afa507e7ee
doc_id: 797182
cord_uid: 2cnlw04r

nan

To the Editor, In the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of adequate health care to patients is fundamental to keep mortality low. Medical stuff, in particular emergency medical service personnel, who represent the first line of the fight against COVID-19 [1] . It is in the pre-hospital setting that each patient should be treated as a potentially infectious patient, and it particularly exposed medical stuff working on front line to the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection [2] . In a systematic review, Bandyopadhyay et al. examine data of 152,888 HCWs infections show mortality at 0.9% level [3] . However, they also calculate mortality at level 37.2 death per 100 infections for HCWs over 70 years. Rivett et al. study 3% of tested in the HCW asymptomatic screening group were SARS-CoV-2 positive [4] . Accurate testing allows identification of people who might need treatment, or who need to isolate themselves to prevent the spread of infection.

In connection with the above, screening of emergency medicine stuff with minimal or no symptoms is approach which will be critical for protecting patients and all medical staff.

The increasing availability of antigen tests allows their use in hospital, pre-hospital and home settings. The specificity of immunological tests detecting AG antigens prove the current infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus [5] . Currently, antigen tests have been recognized as equivalent to genetic tests performed by RT-qPCR. Some tests require a nasal specimen that can be collected using an anterior nasal swab or a nasal mid-turbinate swab, other require a saliva specimen. The next step after collecting the biological material is mixing it with the buffer fluid. Then, after applying a few drops (depending on the test manufacturer) of the got sample to the test, the gold-antibody conjugate is hydrated and the COVID-19 antigen, if present in the sample, will interact with the gold-conjugated antibodies. The antigen-antibody-gold complex will migrate towards the test window as far as the Test Zone, where it will be captured by the immobilized antibodies, creating a visible pink line (Assay In summary, screening of emergency medicine stuff and EMS patients with minimal or no symptoms is an approach which will be critical for protecting patients and all medical staff. Figure 1 

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