Time is the key when it comes to getting accurate results from the Covid-19 antibody test used to determine whether a person has been infected with a new corona virus, according to the new Cochrane Review paper.
Antibody tests are better at detecting Covid-19 in people two or more weeks after their symptoms begin, but there is not enough evidence to determine how well they are working more than five weeks thereafter, or among people who have milder or no disease symptoms at all. all, suggested the review, which was published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews on Thursday.
“Time is very important. Use the test at the wrong time – it will not work,” Jon Deeks, professor of biostatistics and head of Biostatistics, Evidence Synthesis, and Research Evaluation Evaluation Group at the University of Birmingham in England, involved in the review, said during the conference Virtual press with reporters on Thursday.
“This is largely driven by when samples are taken from patients,” Deeks said. “This is not new science, but it is something that has not been well thought out in many of the studies we reviewed.”
The Cochrane Review is a systemic analysis of published studies on a given topic, and often doctors, nurses, patients, researchers, or funders turn to Cochrane evidence to help decision-making or better understand medical problems.
The new review on the accuracy of antibody tests, which includes more than 300 pages, was written by Cochrane researchers from institutions throughout Europe and led by experts from the University of Birmingham.
