Comparison of Various Diagnostic Techniques Used to Identify the Presence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin G

Ali Hazazi¹*, Waleed Alomaim²*, Mohammed Almubarak¹, Fawaz Albloui¹, Omer  Alsaweed¹, Waleed Tamimi³, Ali. A. Rabaan⁴, Fahad Aldakheel⁵, AbdulKarim  S. Bin Shaye⁶ and Faisal Alseraye¹*

¹Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Security Forces Hospital Program, P.O. Box 3643, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia

²King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

³King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

⁴Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

⁵King Saud University, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

⁶Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2851

ABSTRACT: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a potentially lethal pathogen recently found to be responsible for the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At present PCR testing remains the standard method of diagnosing COVID-19 patients. Recently, testing for SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin was identified as a promising method of diagnosing COVID-19 and assessing an individual’s exposure to the virus. In the current study, four different techniques—CLIA, ELISA, ECLIA, and rapid testing—were used to assess the IgG antibody response in 20 patients following COVID-19 exposure. The data obtained using the CLIA and ELISA techniques illustrated that 90 percent of COVID-19 patients produced the SARS-COV-2 IgG antibody. Processing samples using the ECLIA method showed that these antibodies were present in 80 percent of all patients; however, the rapid testing technique showed that only 70 percent of patients were able to generate an immune response. The CLIA and ELISA techniques seemed to be more sensitive in terms of detecting SARS-COV-2 IgG, as they revealed that a high percentage of COVID-19 patients developed the IgG antibody. Conducting further research on the ongoing pandemic COVID-19, particularly studying antibody testing, will be valuable for diagnosing and monitoring patients.

KEYWORDS: Anti-SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Serological Testing

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