COVID-19 Seroprevalence among Healthcare Workers of a Large COVID-19 Hospital in Rome Reveals Strengths and Limits of Two Different Serological Tests

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Brunella Posteraro¹  Massimo Fantoni²  Paola Cattani²  Maurizio Sanguinetti²  Rosalba Ricci²  Roberta Pastorino³  FrancescoMaria De Simone³  Domenico Staiti³  Maurizio Zega⁴  Gennaro Capalbo⁵  MariaElena D’Alfonso⁵  DanieleIgnazio La Milia⁵  Andrea Cambieri⁵  Filippo Berloco⁵  Federica Foti⁶  Giuseppe Vetrugno⁶  Michela Cicconi⁶  Gianfranco Damiani⁷  Floriana D’Ambrosio⁷  Elettra Carini⁷  Patrizia Laurenti⁷  Domenico Pascucci⁷  Marcello Di Pumpo⁷  Stefania Boccia⁷  Francesco Castrini⁷  Umberto Moscato⁷  Fabio De-Giorgio⁸ 

[1] Department of Basic Biotechnological Sciences, Intensive and Perioperative Clinics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;Department of Laboratory and Infectivological Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy;Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health—Public Health Area, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy;Director of Nursing Service Technician and Rehabilitation Administration (S.I.T.R.A.), Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, 00168 Rome, Italy;Hospital Health Management, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy;Risk Management Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy;Section of Hygiene, University Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy;

关键词: COVID-19;    healthcare workers;    point-of-care;    SARS-CoV-2;    serological tests;    seroprevalence;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph18052650

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Healthcare workers are at the forefront against COVID-19, worldwide. Since Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli (FPG) IRCCS was enlisted as a COVID-19 hospital, the healthcare workers deployed to COVID-19 wards were separated from those with limited/no exposure, whereas the administrative staff were designated to work from home. Between 4 June and 3 July 2020, an investigation was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies among the employees of the FPG using point-of-care (POC) and venous blood tests. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were determined with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction on nasal/oropharyngeal swabs as the diagnostic gold standard. The participants enrolled amounted to 4777. Seroprevalence was 3.66% using the POC test and 1.19% using the venous blood test, with a significant difference (p < 0.05). The POC test sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 63.64% (95% confidence interval (CI): 62.20% to 65.04%) and 96.64% (95% CI: 96.05% to 97.13%), while those of the venous blood test were, respectively, 78.79% (95% CI: 77.58% to 79.94%) and 99.36% (95% CI: 99.07% to 99.55%). Among the low-risk populations, the POC test’s predictive values were 58.33% (positive) and 98.23% (negative), whereas those of the venous blood test were 92.86% (positive) and 98.53% (negative). According to our study, these serological tests cannot be a valid alternative to diagnose COVID-19 infection in progress.

【 授权许可】

Unknown