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Volume 28, Number 1—January 2022
Research Letter

Postmortem Antigen-Detecting Rapid Diagnostic Tests to Predict Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2–Associated Deaths

Fabian HeinrichComments to Author , Ann Sophie Schröder, Anna-Lina Gerberding, Moritz Gerling, Felicia Langenwalder, Philine Lange, Axel Heinemann, Eric Bibiza-Freiwald, Dominik Sebastian Nörz, Martin Aepfelbacher, Susanne Pfefferle1Comments to Author , Benjamin Ondruschka1, and Marc Lütgehetmann1
Author affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Main Article

Figure

Overview of 128 consecutive records of SARS-CoV-2–associated deaths received by the Institute of Legal Medicine, Hamburg, Germany, 2020–2021. A) SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads by postmortem intervals. Spearman correlation was performed; estimates and 95% CI are shown. B) Postmortem intervals, viral RNA loads, quantitative (S), and qualitative (NC) antibody levels compared among culture-positive (+) and culture-negative (–) corpses. Comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney-U or χ2 testing, as appropriate. Median and interquartile ranges are shown. Horizontal dotted lines indicate cutoff value. C) Probability of positive antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic test results depending on viral RNA loads calculated by binomial logistic regression. Robust estimates with 95% CI are shown. Vertical red line indicates 95% PoD with the corresponding viral RNA load. Ag-RDT, antigen-detecting rapid antigen test; COI, cut-off index; NC, nucleocapsid; NS, not significant; PoD, probability of detection; S, spike; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Figure. Overview of 128 consecutive records of SARS-CoV-2–associated deaths received by the Institute of Legal Medicine, Hamburg, Germany, 2020–2021. A) SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads by postmortem intervals. Spearman correlation was performed; estimates and 95% CI are shown. B) Postmortem intervals, viral RNA loads, quantitative (S), and qualitative (NC) antibody levels compared among culture-positive (+) and culture-negative (–) corpses. Comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney-U or χ2 testing, as appropriate. Median and interquartile ranges are shown. Horizontal dotted lines indicate cutoff value. C) Probability of positive antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic test results depending on viral RNA loads calculated by binomial logistic regression. Robust estimates with 95% CI are shown. Vertical red line indicates 95% PoD with the corresponding viral RNA load. Ag-RDT, antigen-detecting rapid antigen test; COI, cut-off index; NC, nucleocapsid; NS, not significant; PoD, probability of detection; S, spike; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Main Article

1These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: October 13, 2021
Page updated: December 20, 2021
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