Rapid influenza H1N1 diagnostic test: its diagnostic property

To the editor: The report on assessment of diagnostic properties of rapid influenza H1N1 diagnostic test demonstrated an interesting finding that ‘Rapid tests have high specificity but low sensitivity and thus limited usefulness’. The metaanalysis in this work might have some problems. As different rapid influenza H1N1 diagnostic tests have different basic principles, the use of overall sensitivity and specificity summation in this case might not be suitable. Indeed, the wide spectrum of clinical diagnostic property of rapid tests has been mentioned in the literature, and it was proposed that the causes include sample population, test facility characteristics, work load, and season. Finally, the quality control of rapid tests is needed. Pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical quality management is required as those steps determine the success in using of rapid tests for diagnosis.