Browsing by Author "Mabunda, Sikhumbuzo"

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    Rapid testing for respiratory syncytial virus in a resource-limited paediatric intensive care setting
    (2020-12-08) Newman, Howard; Tshabalala, Donald; Mabunda, Sikhumbuzo
    We analysed the performance characteristics of the respiratory syncytial virus lateral flow rapid antigen assay in use when compared to a multiplex polymerase chain reaction for detection of respiratory viruses. The study was conducted at a tertiary paediatric hospital in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, from 01 January 2017 to 31 December 2018. We found the clinical sensitivity (36.8%) of the rapid test to be too low for routine diagnostic use. Knowledge of assay performance characteristics of rapid tests are important for appropriate interpretation of rapid test results.