AUSTRALIANS should be required to report the results of all COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) taken at home, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) believes.
In a new position statement released this morning, the RCPA said that RATs have an important role in supporting PCR tests in surveillance monitoring for COVID-19, but stressed the home testing kits "have inherent performance limitations".
The College warned that the rate of false negatives associated with self-test RATs could be "as high as four-in-10 in COVID-19 positive RAT users in asymptomatic people", adding that it was important for all RAT results to be recorded through centralised system, not solely positive cases.
"One major risk of self-testing (home use) is the potential loss of epidemiological information about the number of COVID-19 tests performed and the results," the RCPA said.
"The College strongly supports the establishment of electronic online RAT notification systems (for both positive and negative results) to maintain this vital flow of accurate data."
The RCPA also recommended that Australian jurisdictions should require confirmatory PCR tests for any RAT-positive patient admitted to hospital, to confirm diagnosis, for critical care workers - to confirm the need for them to be furloughed and ensure appropriate future infection control measures.
The College added that PCR tests should be used to confirm the results of positive RATs for pregnant women, and patients who are eligible for monoclonal antibody or other antiviral therapies, to avoid unnecessary treatment and potential adverse reactions.
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