Clinical usefulness of a rapid molecular assay, ID NOW™ influenza A & B 2, in adults.

ID NOW™ Influenza A & B 2 (ID NOW 2) is a rapid molecular assay that combines two characteristics, namely the rapidness of rapid antigen detection test (RADT) and the high sensitivity of molecular assay. The clinical performance of ID NOW 2 compared with real-time RT-PCR was evaluated in adults. The sensitivity of ID NOW 2 over multiple seasons from 2016/2017 to 2019/2020 was 97.3% (95% CI: 90.7-99.7) for Type A, 100% (95% CI: 81.9-100) for Type B, and 97.8% (95% CI: 92.2-99.7) for influenza (Type A + Type B), and it was significantly higher than the sensitivity of RADT, which was 80.0% (95% CI: 69.2-88.4) for Type A, 73.3% (95% CI: 44.9-92.2) for Type B, and 78.9% (95% CI: 69.0-86.8) for influenza. The sensitivity of RADT tended to be lower in patients in the particularly early period, within 12 h from disease onset; however, the sensitivity of ID NOW 2 remained high, increasing the difference between the sensitivity of RADT and ID NOW 2. The viral loads were low within 12 h from onset, and it was considered this affected the sensitivity of RADT due to its low analytical sensitivity. The specificity of ID NOW 2 was 98% or greater in all groups. Since ID NOW 2 has a high sensitivity and specificity in adults, it is anticipated to be used in clinical practice, particularly in patients who require early and accurate diagnosis.

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Copyright © 2020 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest This study was sponsored by Abbott Diagnostics Medical Co., Ltd (Tokyo, Japan).