![]() The researchers used real-world data to predict the proportion of Innova LFTs that produce negative results in those with a high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infectiousness and then compared this data with predictions made by mathematical models. “A negative LFT should be used in conjunction with other measures (such as good ventilation, face masks) in such settings to reduce overall risk.” “This means that using them as a ‘green light’ test, for example to go and visit a vulnerable person, could be providing false reassurance. The authors warn that claims LFTs can identify the “vast majority” of infectious cases are likely to be overstated and risk providing false reassurance to the public – although they note that the tests are still an important tool for controlling the pandemic.ĭr Singanayagam said: “Lateral flow tests will miss a proportion of people who are infectious, particularly during the early stages of infection. ![]() "A negative LFT should be used in conjunction with other measures (such as good ventilation, face masks) in settings to reduce overall risk." Dr Anika Singanayagam Clinical Lecturer, Department of Infectious Disease Professor Ajit Lalvani, from Imperial’s National Heart & Lung Institute, and Dr Anika Singanayagam, from Imperial’s Department of Infectious Disease, both worked on the analysis, which has been published in The BMJ. It found that the devices would miss between 20 per cent and 81 per cent of positive cases in the different settings – 20 per cent at the Test and Trace centre, 29 per cent in the city-wide mass testing, and 81 per cent in the university screen testing. The study, which was a collaboration between Imperial College London and the University of Birmingham, looked at the effectiveness of the devices in three settings – symptomatic testing at an NHS Test-and-Trace centre, mass testing in Liverpool in residents without symptoms, and asymptomatic screen testing in students at the University of Birmingham. Lateral flow tests appear to miss a substantial number of COVID-19 infections, particularly for people without symptoms, experts have warned.Īnalysis by a team including experts from Imperial College London found that the proportion of people with current COVID-19 infection missed by the Innova brand of lateral flow test (LFT) was “substantial enough to be of clinical importance”.
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