The study in which the resident of the University of Cauca, Jorge Andrés Sánchez Duque participated, suggests that, during the first eleven days of the onset of symptoms, the ideal diagnostic test is RT-PCR, while after this time, tests should be used of antibodies.

Doctor Jorge Andrés Sánchez Duque, second-year Resident of Family Medicine at the University of Cauca, participated in the execution of an important research work on the use of laboratory tests for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. The study made it possible to suggest that, during the first eleven days after the onset of symptoms, the ideal diagnostic test is RT-PCR, while after this time, antibody tests should be used.

The document entitled "Verification of the performance of the AMP Rapid Test SARS-CoV-2 IgG / IgM- Cassettes" that seeks to verify the performance of the rapid serological tests used in the department of Risaralda, is the result of the union of Institutions of Higher Education, Public Hospitals, Municipal Health Secretariat and Government of Risaralda with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation The full text was published in the journal Infectio, indexed in Scopus (Q3) and Scielo.

The cross-sectional analytical study included serum samples from health workers in the city of Pereira, who had a clinical and epidemiological suspicion for SARS-CoV-2, said processing and validation of the tests was carried out at the facilities of the Technological University from Pereira. Sensitivity and specificity of rapid IgM / IgG serological tests were calculated using RT-PCR as the gold standard.

The use of rapid tests is on the rise, not only due to the rapidity of their results, but also due to the low associated costs and the need to identify non-susceptible patients, who must prioritize their return to work activities in the community as part of reactivation economy of Colombia. It is necessary to confirm the performance of the test to increase the probability of an adequate classification before proceeding to its routine use.

“I had the opportunity to participate in this work, proudly representing the Health, Family and Society Research Group, of the Department of Social Medicine and Family Health of the University of Cauca; I consider that works like this can be carried out in the department of Cauca, for this reason I want to share our manuscript with the academic population, and especially medical, to promote and invite the formation of interaction groups of different public sectors in the construction of science, during and after the pandemic, ”stated Jorge Andrés Sánchez Duque.

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Faculty of Health Sciences

Email: fsalud@unicauca.edu.co