Approach to Assessment of New Swabs and Viral Transport Media for SARS-CoV-2 Testing

Abstract

In light of the present pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the unprecedented high demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing worldwide, there are shortages of established specimen collection devices for respiratory viral testing for diagnostic microbiology laboratories. This creates a necessity to validate unverified collection devices from manufacturers that may not be a registered supplier for medical devices. As clinical laboratories do not routinely perform quality control of established collection devices, there is a need to have a systematic, robust approach towards the assessment of substitute unregistered collection swabs and viral transport media (VTM). A discussion of the aspects requiring consideration when determining the suitability and implementation of new collection devices is presented. These specific assessment criteria include an inspection of device integrity, determination of swab and VTM sterility and in vitro performance, VTM stability and examination of clinical performance of the device. This method was used in a front-line medical microbiology laboratory on swabs and VTM from an unregistered manufacturer, with suboptimal results which precluded implementation. As the pandemic continues, it will be important for diagnostic laboratories to adopt a flexible and streamlined approach towards maintaining adequate supply chain for testing reagents and materials.

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