Through the editorial staff of Allodocteurs.fr

Written on
04/27/2021

A nasal swab that is shallower than a PCR test and results known in thirty minutes, that is the promise of self-tests. They are now advised in the screening of under 15s.

According to Cédric Carbonneil, in charge of evaluation at the Haute Autorité de Santé, their reliability is sufficient: “We do not necessarily have a lot of data available on pediatric populations, but those available are convergent and are reassuring in the sense that the sensitivities are of the same order as in adults.”In adults, the reliability of these self-tests varies from 50 to 58% for asymptomatic patients, but reaches 80% for symptomatic patients.

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In practice, the Haute Autorité de Santé indicates that children should be tested at least once a week. Cédric Carbonneil specifies that “sampling, whether performed by a professional or performed by a person under initial supervision, with early learning, does not induce a loss of sensitivity. So we remain on the same performance so this is also reassuring about the use of these tests in self-test.”

For the moment, schools are still awaiting the arrival of these self-tests. The first should be available from May 10.