Strengths and Limitations
throat
SARS-COV-2 INFECTION, STILL
Major strengths of this study are the randomized design and large sample size, including 2674 participants in the final analysis. The study collected nasal and throat specimens that were analyzed separately by RT-PCR to ensure a highly accurate reference standard for participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The rapid antigen tests were then performed with samples from the same anatomical sites to ensure a head-to-head comparison of both the specimen type and the collection method.Limitations of the study include that the diagnostic performance of home-based testing may be lower because the rapid antigen test result was interpreted by an HCW. Still, we believe our findings can be generalizable to home-based testing because a previous study did not find any difference in the interpretation of rapid antigen testing assays of samples collected by study participants or by HCWs.