Applications of a rapid and sensitive dengue DUO rapid immunochromatographic test kit as a diagnostic strategy during a dengue type 2 Epidemic in an Urban City

Dengue infection is a major health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. A prospective observational study in a university-affiliated hospital was conducted between August 2015 and September 2015. Patients who visited the emergency department (ED) with a presentation of any symptoms of dengue were eligible for the dengue non-structural protein 1 (NS1), IgM/IgG rapid immunochromatographic tests and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to evaluate the performance of the rapid tests. Considering the RT-PCR as the gold standard for the dengue diagnosis, the ideal primary results of sensitivity (80-100%), specificity (60-84%), positive predicted value(75%-95%), and negative predicted value (70-100%) suggested that the NS1-based test with or without a combination of IgM and IgG tests have good diagnostic performances in detecting dengue infections, even in the afebrile or elderly populations.