Elitza Theel, Ph.D., Laboratory Director of the Infectious Diseases Serology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, led the efforts to evaluate and implement the serologic antibody test for COVID-19. She gives an overview of Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 antibody test, as well as the role of antibody testing during the pandemic, and how sensitivity, specificity, and prevalence play a large role in the positive predictive value of a test.
Show Notes
Full Show Notes (Timestamps)
Speaker 1: (
00:56)
So there continues to be a lot of interest in antibody testing for COVID-19. Can you refresh our memories on what antibody testing is?
Speaker 1: (
02:12)
Now that we are actually six months into this outbreak, what is our understanding about using serologic testing? Will it be the magic bullet that will allow us to go back to work?
Speaker 1: (
05:26)
Can you explain that to everyone in ways that we could all understand? What does this mean exactly? How does this impact serologic testing and interpretation of results?
Speaker 1: (
09:29)
So given this information on the positive predictive value and how it's influenced by both the prevalence and specificity of a test, have government agencies provided guidance on how to select and interpret serologic results for COVID-19?
Resources:
https://news.mayocliniclabs.com/covid19/What is Answers from the Lab?
A Mayo Clinic curated podcast sharing Mayo Clinic knowledge and advancements on the state of testing, science, and people who are making it happen behind the scenes.