Table 1 Characteristics of the Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen test (BinaxNOW-SP; Alere, USA) for the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia
From: The role of rapid diagnostic tests in managing adults with pneumonia in low-resource settings
Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
Urine specimen is easy to obtain and no processing needed Minimal laboratory infrastructure and operator training required Rapid results (≤15 minutes) High specificity Incremental improvement in sensitivity when combined with blood and sputum culture Remains positive after starting antibiotics Facilitates early targeting of antibiotic treatment | High cost Polymicrobial infection not identified No information on antimicrobial resistance Insufficient sensitivity to exclude pneumococcal pneumonia Early narrowing of antibiotic treatment not of proven benefit and may be deleterious |