A cautionary tale of false-negative nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing
Sean S.M. Bullis, Jessica W. Crothers, S. Wayne, Andrew J. Hale
Abstract
There remains diagnostic uncertainty regarding the sensitivity of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in detection of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal specimens. We present a case where two nasopharyngeal specimens were negative, followed by a positive sputum sample. Serial testing for COVID-19 is indicated in patients with high pretest probability of disease.
Topics & Concepts
MedicineCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)SputumFalse Negative ReactionsPre- and post-test probabilitySevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Polymerase chain reaction2019-20 coronavirus outbreakDiagnostic testInternal medicinePathologyDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)PediatricsGeneticsTuberculosisBiologyGeneOutbreakSARS-CoV-2 detection and testingRespiratory viral infections researchCOVID-19 diagnosis using AI