Comparison of the ID NOWTM Influenza A & B 2, Cobas® Influenza A/B, and Xpert® Xpress Flu Point-of-Care Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests for Influenza A/B Detection in Children

Early diagnosis of influenza (Flu) virus is critical for patient management and infection control. The ID NOW™ Influenza A & B 2 assay (ID-NOW™; Abbott Laboratories), Cobas® Influenza A/B nucleic acid test (LIAT; Roche Molecular Systems Inc.), and Xpert® Xpress Flu (Xpert; Cepheid) are rapid, point-of-care molecular assays for Flu detection. The study aim was to compare the performance of these three commercially available Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waived Flu assays. We prospectively enrolled 201 children 97%. These molecular assays had higher sensitivity when compared to a historical standard-of-care test result from the BD Veritor™ antigen test (Flu A: 79.5%; Flu B: 66.7%).