Rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection by multicapillary column coupled ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS) of breath. A proof of concept study

Abstract

<jats:p>There is an urgent need for screening patients of having a communicable viral disease to cut infection chains. We could recently demonstrate that MCC-IMS of breath is able to identify Influenza-A infected patients. With decreasing Influenza epidemic and upcoming SARS-CoV-2 infections we extended our study to the analysis of patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infections. 51 patients, 23m, 28f, aged 64 +/- 16 years, were included in this study. Besides RT-PCR analysis of nasopharyngeal swabs all patients underwent MCC-IMS analysis of breath. 16 patients, 7m, 9f, were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. There was no difference in gender or age according to the groups. Stepwise canonical discriminant analysis could correctly classify the infected and non- infected subjects in 98% by cross-validation. Afterwards we combined the Influenza-A sub study and the SARS-CoV-2- sub study for a total of 75 patients, 34m, 41f, aged 64.8 +/- 1.8 years, 14 positive for Influenza-A, 16 positive for SARS-CoV-2, the remaining 44 patients were used as controls. In one patient RT-PCR was highly suspicious of SARS-CoV-2 but inconclusive. There was no imbalance between the groups for age or gender. 97.3% of the patients could be correctly classified to the respective group by discriminant analysis. Even the inconclusive patient could be mapped to the SARS-CoV-2 group applying the discrimination function. Conclusion: MCC-IMS is able to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection and Influenza-A infection in breath. As this method provides exact, fast non-invasive diagnosis it should be further developed for screening of communicable viral diseases. Study registration: <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="clintrialgov" xlink:href="NCT04282135">NCT04282135</jats:ext-link></jats:p>

Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections, similar across different body fluids

“…This was however not within the scope of the current study. The laboratory identification of the specific VOC pattern is still in its infancy, but some current studies under review and also a peer-reviewed one showed SARS-CoV-2 specific biomarkers in breath samples detectable by gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry 27,28 , which also support our hypothesis. Scent dogs should be considered an addition to the gold standard RT-PCR, for rapid testing in situations where great numbers of people from different origins come together.…”

Scent dog identification of samples from COVID-19 patients – a pilot study

“…In comparison, the current gold standard diagnostic RT-PCR test of a nasopharyngeal swab can, in trained hands, have a false detection rate of 25% and a false positive rate of 2.3-6.9% [16]. A new, not yet published study indicated a clear, nearly 100% VOC specific pattern of SARS-COV-2 infected individuals compared to negative controls and individuals infected by the influenza virus using multicapillary column coupled ion mobility spectrometry of breath [17]. This provides further indications that unique VOC imprints exist and can be used for the development of diagnostic procedures.…”

Ruling out SARS-CoV-2 infection using exhaled breath analysis by electronic nose in a public health setting

“…VOC formation during an infection is the result of a multi-step and highly complex interaction between virus and host response (15). Notably, exhaled VOC signatures seem to be virus-specific (21, 22, 26). This could be partly due to the fact that various types of viruses use different receptors for cell entry; for example, SARS-CoV-2 binds the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor (27), whereas seasonal influenza viruses mainly use sialic acids receptors (22).…”

“…Furthermore, in a small study using a multi-capillary column coupled ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS), Steppert et al . have recently demonstrated that breath profiles of those infected with SARS-Cov-2 are significantly different from those with Influenza A infection (26).…”