Highlighted Prospects of an IgM/IgG Antibodies Test in Identifying Individuals With Asymptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2021 Jan 1;145(1):39-45. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0310-SA.

Abstract

Context.—: Covert severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections could be seeding new outbreaks. How to identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections early has become a global focus.

Objective.—: To explore the roles of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies detection, nucleic acid tests, and computed tomography (CT) scanning to identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Design.—: The clinical data of 389 individuals with close contacts, including in general characteristics, SARS-CoV-2 etiology, serum-specific IgM and IgG antibody detection and CT imaging results, were systematically analyzed.

Results.—: The present study showed that only 89 of 389 individuals with close contacts were positive after the first nucleic acid test, while 300 individuals were still negative after 2 nucleic acid tests. Among the 300 individuals, 75 did not have pneumonia, and the other 225 individuals had pulmonary imaging changes. A total of 143 individuals were eventually diagnosed as having asymptomatic infection through IgM antibody and IgG antibody detection. The sensitivity, specificity, and false-negative rate of IgM and IgG antibody detection were approximately 97.1% (347 of 357), 95.3% (204 of 214), and 4.67% (10 of 214), respectively. It also indicated that during approximately 2 weeks, most individuals were both IgM positive and IgG positive, accounting for 68.57% (72 of 105). During approximately 3 weeks, the proportion of IgM-positive and IgG-positive individuals decreased to 8.57% (9 of 105), and the proportion of IgM-negative and IgG-positive individuals increased to 76.19% (80 of 105).

Conclusions.—: There are highlighted prospects of IgM/IgG antibody detection as a preferred method in identifying the individuals with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially combined with nucleic acid tests and pulmonary CT scanning.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Asymptomatic Infections*
  • COVID-19 / diagnosis*
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / immunology*
  • COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing
  • COVID-19 Serological Testing / methods*
  • COVID-19 Serological Testing / trends
  • China / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Lung / diagnostic imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Retrospective Studies
  • SARS-CoV-2* / immunology
  • Time Factors
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M