According to the results of the current meta-analysis, the existing evidence regarding the diagnostic accuracy of POC, ELISA, and CT for COVID-19 is characterized by limitations such as high bias risks and heterogeneity. Furthermore, our findings indicated that the sensitivity of CT and POC was consistently lower compared to ELISA. The sensitivity of POC has been estimated at 68.62%, indicating a significant weakness in this test compared to marketed bedside tests for COVID-19 diagnosis.
In the present study, a significant difference was observed between the sensitivity of the tests performed in China and the sensitivity of the tests conducted in Italy. Although no significant difference was denoted between the tests in China and other countries, the sensitivity of the tests performed in China was higher compared to other countries.
In a study aiming to evaluate the ELISA kits that are commercially produced for SARS-CoV2 without completed validation or those about to be validated, the sensitivity and differences of IgA and IgG antibody titers in patient sera were determined. According to the findings, this ELISA kit has been designed to bind to the S1 protein, and the results of IgA in the course of the disease were significantly correlated with the kit (
8). Furthermore, the antibody in the kit is 90% similar to the other coronavirus N protein, indicating sufficient results and confirming the results of the serum test performed within five days from the onset of the infection by RT-PCR (
58). Notably, evaluation of different recommended parameters for the course of the disease are essential to determining the specificity of SARS-CoV2 serological tests in the infection follow-up (
59).
The benefits of POC tests are cost-efficiency, rapid implementation, and accurate results. However, the low sensitivity of this method is alarming. According to the studies in this meta-analysis, the sensitivity of the POC tests performed with serum/plasma samples is lower than the POC tests performed with nasopharyngeal samples; notably, the sample type should be considered in this test. Few patients are tested for suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the overall results of our study may not be generalizable to all patients with suspected COVID-19.
Chest CT played a key role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 at the beginning of the outbreak and during the peak periods of the pandemic. Although RT-PCR is considered the ‘gold standard’ in this regard, the frequency of FN results after the first test and the absence of a laboratory kit in the early stages of the pandemic limit the early diagnosis of COVID-19 by this method. According to our findings, the tests used for the early diagnosis of COVID-19 (especially CT) have higher sensitivity in the regions that were first and heavily affected by the pandemic, such as China. Therefore, diagnostic criteria based on typical CT imaging features are only temporarily included in the current diagnostic-treatment guidelines in Hubei Province of China (
60). These guidelines enable the early clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 due to the insufficiency of high-sensitivity tests such as ELISA and CT, as well as the RT-PCR diagnostic kits that contribute to the effective control of the current pandemic. The difference in this regard has several reasons, such as differences in CT sensitivity, heterogeneity in radiologists’ gaze, disease severity, and symptom onset.
Although RT-PCR is accepted as the ‘gold standard’, FN results are also encountered. According to Xie et al., more than 5% of COVID-19 patients initially had FN RT-PCR results, which became positive after multiple tests (
61). However, 86% of these patients had positive chest CT images before their first negative RT-PCR results. Several cases of this issue are reported increasingly (
60). Given the concerns about FN results, the limitations of RT-PCR, and the continued increase in the global cases of COVID-19, the British Thoracic Imaging Association highlights the importance of radiographic evaluation, especially in case of diagnostic uncertainty (
62).
According to the CMA analysis in the current research, the I2 value was 90.20%, which indicated the high heterogeneity of the selected studies for the meta-analysis (P < 0.001). The main reasons of the heterogeneity between the studies are the diverse number of the evaluated patients, different demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, differences in the applied methods, mistakes of the health personnel who evaluated the diagnosis tests, differences in the tested variables in ELISA (IgG, IgM, and IgG + IgM), differences in the commercial brand of POC and ELISA kits, differences in the virus structure in immunoserological tests (surface protein, nucleocapsid protein, surface/nucleocapsid proteins), and the interval between the onset of symptoms and performing CT, ELISA, and POC.
5.1. Limitations of the Study
The main limitations of our meta-analysis were the small sample size and exclusion of the studies evaluating fewer than 50 patients. In addition, meta-regression analysis was not performed since many studies would have to be excluded due to not reporting common variables. Another limitation was that we did not search databases such as OVID, Medline, and Embase, and some published studies might have been overlooked.
5.2. Conclusions
This is the first meta-analysis to simultaneously evaluate POC, ELISA, and CT sensitivity in COVID-19 diagnosis. According to the results, these tests had different sensitivity and specificity. ELISA was considered to be a more accurate diagnostic test for COVID-19 compared to POC and CT owing to its high sensitivity and true positivity rate, low FN rate, short processing time, and simple study procedure. Although helpful in diagnosis, confirmation of ELISA results by PCR remains the ‘gold standard’. Further investigations are urgently required regarding the diagnostic performance of the test methods used worldwide for COVID-19 on larger sample sizes and in greater detail.