{rfName}
Cl

Indexed in

License and use

Citations

3

Altmetrics

Grant support

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by a grant from the Fundacio la Marato de TV3 (201807-10), Barcelona, Spain and by the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Analysis of institutional authors

Iftimie, SimonaCorresponding AuthorPujol, IsabelAuthorBallester, FredericAuthorFernandez, LuisAuthorCastro, AntoniAuthorCamps, JordiCorresponding AuthorSimo, Josep MAuthor

Share

August 23, 2021
Publications
>
Article
No

Clinical performance of the Elecsys (R) anti-SARS-CoV-2 combined in an algorithm with two specific anti-IgG immunoassays for the evaluation of the serological response of patients with COVID-19 in a population with a high prevalence of infection

Publicated to:Annals Of Clinical Biochemistry. 58 (6): 614-621 - 2021-11-01 58(6), DOI: 10.1177/00045632211038038

Authors: Gabaldo-Barrios, Xavier; Iftimie, Simona; Hernandez-Aguilera, Anna; Pujol, Isabel; Ballester, Frederic; Fernandez, Luis; Cladellas, Sara; Castro, Antoni; Joven, Jorge; Camps, Jordi; Simo, Josep M

Affiliations

Lab Referencia Catalunya SA, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Inst Invest Sanitaria Pere Virgili, Hosp Univ St Joan, Dept Internal Med, Reus, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Inst Invest Sanitaria Pere Virgili, Hosp Univ St Joan, Dept Pathol, Reus, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Inst Invest Sanitaria Pere Virgili, Hosp Univ St Joan, Lab Referencia Camp Tarragona & Terres Ebre, Reus, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili, Inst Invest Sanitaria Pere Virgili, Hosp Univ St Joan, Unitat Recerca Biomed, C St Joan S-N, Reus 43201, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

Background Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies have been used in the study of the immune response in infected patients. However, differences in sensitivity and specificity have been reported, depending on the method of analysis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of an algorithm in which a high-throughput automated assay for total antibodies was used for screening and two semi-automated IgG-specific methods were used to confirm the results, and also to correlate the analytical results with the clinical data and the time elapsed since infection. Methods We studied 306 patients, some hospitalized and some outpatients, belonging to a population with a high prevalence of COVID-19. One-hundred and ten patients were classified as SARS-CoV-2 negative and 196 as positive by polymerase chain reaction. Results The algorithm and automated assay alone had a specificity and a positive predictive value of 100%, although the sensitivity and negative predictive value of the algorithm was higher. Both methods showed a good sensitivity from day 11 of the onset of symptoms in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. The absorbance of the total antibodies was significantly higher in severely symptomatic than in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients, which suggests the antibody level was higher. We found 15 patients who did not present seroconversion at 12 days from the onset of symptoms or the first polymerase chain reaction test. Conclusion This study highlights the proper functioning of algorithms in the diagnosis of the immune response to COVID-19, which can help to define testing strategies against this disease.

Keywords

AdultAgedAlgorithmsAnti-iggAntibodiesAntibodies, anti-idiotypicAntibodies, viralAssaysCovid-19Covid-19 serological testingDiagnostic accuracyFemaleHumansImmunoassayImmunoglobulin gLaboratory automationMaleMiddle agedPredictive value of testsPrevalenceRetrospective studiesSars-cov-2Sensitivity and specificitySerology

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Annals Of Clinical Biochemistry due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Medicine (Miscellaneous). Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q3 for the agency WoS (JCR) in the category Medical Laboratory Technology.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-07-22:

  • WoS: 1
  • Scopus: 1
  • Europe PMC: 1

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-22:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 16.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 20 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Gabaldo-Barrios, Xavier) and Last Author (Joven Maried, Jorge).

the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Gabaldo-Barrios, Xavier, Iftimie Iftimie, Simona Mihaela and Camps Andreu, Jorge.