Swab, test, repeat: A 2nd rapid COVID test more than doubled result accuracy

Enlarge / A pharmacist at the Community Pharmacy of Saco demonstrates how Abbott's BinaxNow COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test works by using a nasal swab and a solution onto a test strip. (credit: Getty | Portland Press Herald)

To quickly confirm an asymptomatic case of COVID-19, a second rapid test within an hour of a positive result can boost the accuracy of the result from 38 percent to 92 percent, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.

The finding could guide future use of rapid tests for quick-turnaround decisions on interventions, as well as in situations where lab-based PCR testing is too costly or unavailable entirely.

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View more storiesCurrently, rapid tests are considered most accurate when used on people who are suspected of having COVID-19 and are within the first seven days of having COVID-19-related symptoms. Abbot's BinaxNow rapid test, for example, accurately identified infections in about 82 percent of symptomatic people (102/125 cases) and provided accurate negative results in about 98 percent of symptomatic people (227/231 cases).

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