scholarly journals Prospective analytical performance evaluation of the QuickNavi™-COVID19 Ag for asymptomatic individuals

Author(s):  
Yoshihiko Kiyasu ◽  
Yuto Takeuchi ◽  
Yusaku Akashi ◽  
Daisuke Kato ◽  
Miwa Kuwahara ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionAntigen testing may help screen for and detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in asymptomatic individuals. However, limited data regarding the diagnostic performance of antigen tests for this group are available.MethodsWe used clinical samples to prospectively evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the antigen test QuickNavi™-COVID19 Ag. This study was conducted at a PCR center between October 7, 2020 and January 9, 2021. Two nasopharyngeal samples per patient were obtained with flocked swabs; one was used for the antigen test, and the other for real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). The diagnostic performance of the antigen test was compared between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, and the RT-PCR results were used as a reference.ResultsAmong the 1,934 collected samples, SARS-CoV-2 was detected by real-time RT-PCR in 188 (9.7%); 76 (40.4%) of these samples were from asymptomatic individuals. Over half of the total samples (1,073; 55.5%) were obtained from asymptomatic volunteers. The sensitivity of the antigen test was significantly lower for asymptomatic group than for symptomatic patients (67.1% vs 89.3%, p < 0.001). The specificity was 100% for both groups, and no false positives were observed among all 1,934 samples. The median Ct value for the asymptomatic group was significantly higher than that of the symptomatic group (24 vs 20, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe QuickNavi™-COVID19 Ag showed a lower sensitivity for asymptomatic group than for symptomatic patients. However, its specificity was consistently high, and no false positives were found in this study.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Peña ◽  
Manuel Ampuero ◽  
Carlos Garcés ◽  
Aldo Gaggero ◽  
Patricia García ◽  
...  

AbstractScreening, testing and contact tracing plays a pivotal role in the control of COVID-19 pandemic. To carry out this strategy it is necessary to increase the testing capacity. Here, we compared a SARS CoV-2 rapid antigen test (RAT) and RT-PCR in 842 asymptomatic individuals from Tarapacá, Chile. We report a sensibility of 69.86%, a specificity of 99.61%, PPV of 94.44% and NPP of 97.22% with Ct values (Ct > 27) that were significantly higher among individuals with false-negative RAT. These results support the fact that RAT might have a significant impact in the identification of asymptomatic carriers in areas that lack well-equipped laboratories to perform SARS-CoV-2 real -time RT-PCR diagnostics or the results take more than 24-48 hours, as well as zones with high traffic of individuals, such as border/customs, airports, interregional bus, train stations or in any mass testing campaign requiring rapid results.


Author(s):  
Mónica Peña ◽  
Manuel Ampuero ◽  
Carlos Garcés ◽  
Aldo Gaggero ◽  
Patricia García ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weston C Hymas ◽  
Wade K Aldous ◽  
Edward W Taggart ◽  
Jeffery B Stevenson ◽  
David R Hillyard

Abstract Background: Enteroviruses are a leading cause of aseptic meningitis in adult and pediatric populations. We describe the development of a real-time RT-PCR assay that amplifies a small target in the 5′ nontranslated region upstream of the classical Rotbart enterovirus amplicon. The assay includes an RNA internal control and incorporates modified nucleotide chemistry. Methods: We evaluated the performance characteristics of this design and performed blinded parallel testing on clinical samples, comparing the results with a commercially available RT-PCR assay (Pan-Enterovirus OligoDetect kit) that uses an enzyme immunoassay–like plate end detection. Results: We tested 778 samples and found 14 discrepant samples between the 2 assays. Of these, the real-time assay detected 6 samples that were negative by the OligoDetect kit, 5 of which were confirmed as positive by sequence analysis using an alternative primer set. Eight discrepant samples were positive by the OligoDetect kit and real-time negative, with 6 confirmed by sequencing. Overall, detection rates of 97% and 96% were obtained for the OligoDetect kit and real-time assays, respectively. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the targeted region. The comparative sensitivities of the 2 assays were equivalent, with the limit of detection for the real-time assay determined to be approximately 430 copies per milliliter in cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusions: This novel real-time enterovirus assay is a sensitive and suitable assay for routine clinical testing. The presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms can affect real-time PCR assays.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuan Nur Akmalina Mat Jusoh ◽  
Rafidah Hanim Shueb

The shattering rise in dengue virus infections globally has created a need for an accurate and validated rapid diagnostic test for this virus. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) diagnostic detection are useful tools for diagnosis of early dengue infection. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of nonstructural 1 (NS1) RDT and real-time RT-PCR diagnostic kits in 86 patient serum samples. Thirty-six samples were positive for dengue NS1 antigen while the remaining 50 were negative when tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Commercially available RDTs for NS1 detection, RTK ProDetect™, and SD Bioline showed high sensitivity of 94% and 89%, respectively, compared with ELISA. GenoAmp® Trioplex Real-Time RT-PCR and RealStar® Dengue RT-PCR tests presented a comparable kappa agreement with 0.722. The result obtained from GenoAmp® Real-Time RT-PCR Dengue test showed that 14 samples harbored dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1), 8 samples harbored DENV-2, 2 samples harbored DENV-3, and 1 sample harbored DENV-4. 1 sample had a double infection with DENV-1 and DENV-2. The NS1 RDTs and real-time RT-PCR tests were found to be a useful diagnostic for early and rapid diagnosis of acute dengue and an excellent surveillance tool in our battle against dengue.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (06) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Phat X. Dinh

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most economically important diseases to swine industry worldwide. Due to the heterogeneity of field isolates, accurate detection of the PRRS virus is a diagnostic challenge. Recently, co-infection with NA-PRRSV, EU-PRRSV and HP-PRRSV isolates continuously increases in many countries, resulting in a significant impact on PRRSV diagnostics and disease control on farms. To facilitate rapid diagnosis and reliable discrimination of NA-PRRSV, EU-PRRSV and HP-PRRSV, a multiplex RT-PCR assay was established with three pairs of primers targeting highly conservative regions of nsp2 gene with predicted multiplex RT-PCR products of 364 bp, 161 bp and 259 bp, respectively. The primer pairs were optimized to be highly specific for PRRSV genotypes and were able to detect the target gene at the limit of 102 copies/μL for each gene. Clinical samples were used to evaluate this multiplex RT-PCR in parallel with a commercial real-time RT-PCR kit. Results showed over 95.2% (20/21 samples) agreement between the mRT-PCR and the real-time RT-PCR kit. Hence, it indicated that this multiplex RT-PCR could be useful for rapid and deferential diagnosis of NA-PRRSV, EU-PRRSV and HP-PRRSV in swine farms.


Diseases ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Sabine Bock ◽  
Bernd Hoffmann ◽  
Martin Beer ◽  
Kerstin Wernike

Since the beginning of 2020, the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is causing a global pandemic of an acute respiratory disease termed COVID-19. The diagnostics of the novel disease is primarily based on direct virus detection by RT-PCR; however, the availability of test kits may become a major bottleneck, when millions of tests are performed per week. To increase the flexibility of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, three real-time RT-PCR assays listed on the homepage of the World Health Organization were selected and investigated regarding their compatibility with three different RT-PCR kits. Furthermore, the reaction volume of the PCR chemistry was reduced up to half of the original protocol to make the individual reactions more cost- and resource-effective. When testing dilution series of culture-grown virus, nearly identical quantification cycle values (Cq) were obtained for all RT-PCR assay/chemistry combinations. Regarding the SARS-CoV-2 detection in clinical samples, agreeing results were obtained for all combinations for virus negative specimens and swabs containing high to medium viral genome loads. In cases of very low SARS-CoV-2 genome loads (Cq > 36), inconsistent results were observed, with some test runs scoring negative and some positive. However, no preference of a specific target within the viral genome (E, RdRp, or N) or of a certain chemistry was seen. In summary, a reduction of the reaction volume and the type of PCR chemistry did not influence the PCR sensitivity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Oladipo Babafemi

Abstract Background: COVID-19 has spread globally since its discovery in Hubei province, China in December 2019 and became pandemic in 2020. COVID-19 is a new betacoronavirus and a variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARA- CoV-2). Rapid, accurate and reliable diagnosis of COVID-19 will prevent the spread and allow for appropriate management. The main objective of this systematic review is to identify, appraise and summarise the published evidence on the diagnostic performance and effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the diagnosis of current or previous COVID-19 using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We will search MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, BIOSIS, LILACS, Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialised Register (CIDG SR), Global Health, and CINAHL for published studies for the diagnosis of COVID-19 using real-time polymerase chain reaction assay in LMICs There will be no restriction regarding the language, date of publication, and publication status. We will include retrospective, cross-sectional and cohort observational studies will be included in the review. Selection of studies, data extraction and management, assessment of risk of bias, and quality of evidence will be performed by two independent reviewers (EB and BC). A third researcher (GM) will be consulted in case of discrepancies. Depending on the availability and quality of the data, a meta-analysis will be performed. Otherwise, findings will be qualitatively reported. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the uptake of RT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection from clinical samples in human in LMICs. This review will make available evidence on the uptake, accuracy, approach, and interpretation of results of this assay in the context of COVID-19 diagnosis which will meet an urgent need, considering the diagnostic challenges of RT-PCR assay for COVID-19 diagnosis in humans. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021271894


Author(s):  
Michela Deiana ◽  
Chiara Piubelli ◽  
Antonio Mori ◽  
Gian Paolo Chiecchi ◽  
Giulia La Marca ◽  
...  

Background: The reference test for SARS-CoV-2 detection is the reverse transcriptase real time PCR (real time RT-PCR). However, evidences reported that real time RT-PCR has a lower sensitivity compared with the droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) leading to possible false negative in low viral load cases. Methods: We used ddPCR for viral genes N1 and N2 on 20 negative (no detection) samples from symptomatic hospitalized COVID-patients presenting fluctuating real time RT-PCR results and 10 suspected samples (Ct value&gt;35) from asymptomatic not hospitalized subjects. Results: ddPCR performed on RNA revealed 65% of positivity for at least one viral target in the hospitalized patients group of samples (35% for N1 and N2, 10% only for N1 and 20% only for N2) and 50% in the suspected cases (30% for N1 and N2, while 20% only for N2). On hospitalized patients&rsquo; samples, we applied also a direct ddPCR approach on the swab material, achieving an overall positivity of 83%. Conclusion: ddPCR, in particular the direct quantitation on swabs, shows a sensitivity advantage for the SARS-CoV-2 identification and may be useful to reduce the false negative diagnosis, especially for low viral load suspected samples.


Author(s):  
Karina Helena Morais Cardozo ◽  
Adriana Lebkuchen ◽  
Guilherme Goncalves Okai ◽  
Rodrigo Andrade Schuch ◽  
Luciana Godoy Viana ◽  
...  

Abstract The current outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome associated with coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is pressing public health systems around the world, and large population testing is a key step to control this pandemic disease. Real-time reverse-transcription PCR (real-time RT-PCR) is the gold standard test for virus detection but the soaring demand for this test resulted in shortage of reagents and instruments, severely limiting its applicability to large-scale screening. To be used either as an alternative, or as a complement, to real-time RT-PCR testing, we developed a high-throughput targeted proteomics assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 proteins directly from clinical respiratory tract samples. Sample preparation was fully automated by using a modified magnetic particle-based proteomics approach implemented on a robotic liquid handler, enabling a fast processing of samples. The use of turbulent flow chromatography included four times multiplexed on-line sample cleanup and UPLC separation. MS/MS detection of three peptides from SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein and a 15N-labeled internal global standard was achieved within 2.5 min, enabling the analysis of more than 500 samples per day. The method was validated using 562 specimens previously analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and was able to detect over 83% of positive cases. No interference was found with samples from common respiratory viruses, including other coronaviruses (NL63, OC43, HKU1, and 229E). The strategy here presented has high sample stability and low cost and should be considered as an option to large population testing.


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