Swab Pooling for Large-Scale RT-qPCR Screening of SARS-CoV-2

Christoff, A.; Cruz, Giuliano Netto Flores; Sereia, Aline Fernanda Rodrigues; Boberg, Dellyana Rodrigues; Bastiani, Daniela Carolina de; Yamanaka, Laís Eiko; Fongaro, Gislaine; Stoco, Patrícia Hermes; Bazzo, Maria Luiza; Grisard, Edmundo Carlos; Hernandes, Camila; Oliveira, Luiz Felipe Valter de

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3689590

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Swab pooling in a single tube at the time of collection is another practice. This is found to be as sensitive as individual testing( Christoff et al, 2021 ) but if a positive pool is encountered, samples have to be collected again. Hence double swabs have to be collected from every individual in the beginning( Chen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Validation Of Pooled Testing In Clinical Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pooled Testing Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis: A comprehensive review

Daniel

Anbalagan

et al. 2021

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease

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SARS-CoV-2 has surged across the globe causing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Systematic testing to facilitate index case isolation and contact tracing is needed for efficient containment of viral spread. The major bottleneck in leveraging testing capacity has been the lack of diagnostic resources. Pooled testing is a potential approach that could reduce cost and usage of test kits. This method involves pooling individual samples and testing them ‘ en bloc ’. Only if the pool tests positive, retesting of individual samples is performed. Upon reviewing recent articles on this strategy employed in various SARS-CoV-2 testing scenarios, we found substantial diversity emphasizing the requirement of a common protocol. In this article, we review various theoretically simulated and clinically validated pooled testing models and propose practical guidelines on applying this strategy for large scale screening. If implemented properly, the proposed approach could contribute to proper utilization of testing resources and flattening of infection curve.

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Section: Validation Of Pooled Testing In Clinical Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pooled Testing Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis: A comprehensive review

Daniel

Anbalagan

et al. 2021

Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease

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“…The commonly used diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 is based on detection of viral RNA in nasopharyngeal samples by RT-PCR amplification following RNA extraction. Pooling of samples in this context could potentially be used at any stage along the diagnostic workflow, from pooled sample collection to pooled RNA extraction and RT-PCR, or pooled final RT-PCR only (2,(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14), with each approach having pros and cons with regard to test saving versus logistics issues and delays associated with patient and sample re-testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from applied large-scale pooling of 133,816 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests

et al. 2021

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Pooling multiple swab samples prior to RNA extraction and real-time reverse-transcription (RT-PCR) analysis has been proposed as a strategy to reduce costs and increase throughput of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) tests. However, reports on practical large-scale group testing for SARS-CoV-2 have been scant. Key open questions concern reduced sensitivity due to sample dilution, the rate of false positives, the actual efficiency (number of tests saved by pooling), and the impact of infection rate in the population on assay performance. Here we report an analysis of 133,816 samples collected between April-September 2020 and tested by Dorfman pooling for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. We spared 76% of RNA extraction and RT-PCR tests, despite the frequently changing prevalence (0.5%-6%). We observed pooling efficiency and sensitivity that exceeded theoretical predictions, which resulted from the non-random distribution of positive samples in pools. Overall, our findings support the use of pooling for efficient large-scale SARS-CoV-2 testing.

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“…Mass screening, in turn, is limited by access of the population to laboratory testing, which in the case of PCR is limited by the capabilities of laboratories. In this regard, many states are adopting new approaches, whereby samples are pooled to increase the amount of PCR tests [15], [16], [17], [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value of Rapid Antigen Tests to Identify Carriers of Viable SARS-CoV-2

Shidlovskaya

Kuznetsova

Divisenko

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The search for effective methods to detect patients who excrete a viable virus is one of the urgent tasks of modern biomedicine. In the present study, we examined the diagnostic value of two antigen tests BIOCREDIT COVID-19 Ag (RapiGEN Inc., Korea) and SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag (Sugentech Inc., Korea) for their diagnostic value in identifying patients who excrete viable SARS-CoV-2. As part of the study, we examined samples from 106 patients who had just been admitted to the hospital, who had undergone quantitative RT-PCR and assessment of viability of SARS-CoV-2 using cell culture. Sensitivity was 0.786 (0.492-0.953) for SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag and 1 (0.768-1) for Biocredit COVID-19 Ag. Specificity of rapid tests was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR and was 0.663 (0.557-0.758) and 0.674 (0.568-0.768) for SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag and Biocredit COVID-19 Ag versus 0.304 (0.213-0.409) obtained for PCR. Thus, for tasks of identifying viable SARS-CoV-2 during screening of conditionally healthy people, as well as monitoring those quarantined, rapid tests show significantly better results.

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Swab Pooling for Large-Scale RT-qPCR Screening of SARS-CoV-2

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Pooled Testing Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis: A comprehensive review

Pooled Testing Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis: A comprehensive review

Lessons from applied large-scale pooling of 133,816 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests

The Value of Rapid Antigen Tests to Identify Carriers of Viable SARS-CoV-2

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