The use of self-tests do-it-yourself that would allow with a simple prick at the tip of the finger to quickly know if one has produced antibodies against the new coronavirus, is "premature", estimated Monday the High Authority for Health (HAS ). Self-tests are "difficult to interpret today" and their "performances are uneven", she underlines. HAS noted that "to date there is very little scientific data on the performance of self-tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in real life".
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To this uncertainty about the reliability of these tests, is added a "difficulty of use: if the taking of the sample is simple (the patient carries it out alone, at home, by pricking the fingertip), it is not not the case for reading and interpreting the result. "Without support, the patient takes the risk of drawing incorrect conclusions from this test".
Fast and low-hardware tests
This position is part of a report by the HAS, released on Monday, on the place of rapid serological tests which give results in a few minutes: rapid diagnostic tests (RDT, in the laboratory), rapid diagnostic orientation tests (TROD, if positive, they must be confirmed in the laboratory), and self-tests. Thanks to their greater speed of use and the little material required to carry them out, these unit tests would be accessible throughout the territory, including in cities with only a local medical biology laboratory, without technical platform. heavy, she notes.
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Uncertainties about possible immunity
But whatever the serological test, there remains uncertainty about the protection, immunity against the virus, which would guarantee the presence of antibodies, and if so, over its duration. "This is why, in the current state of knowledge, these tests do not yet have a place in the identification of persons protected against the virus", underlines the HAS.
On the other hand, by identifying the people who are or have been contaminated by the virus, serological tests have their place on the one hand in the epidemiological surveillance of the disease; as well as on the other hand, in the diagnostic strategy, in addition to the virological test (by RT-PCR) which remains the first-line test for the diagnosis of the acute phase of COVID-19 disease.