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

There is an urgent need for screening of patients 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 went on and also analysed patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infections.75 patients, 34m, 41f, aged 64.4 ± 15.4 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 initially inconclusiveBesides RT-PCR analysis of nasopharyngeal swabs all patients underwent MCC-IMS analysis of breath. There was no difference in gender or age according to the groups.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.ConclusionMCC-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.Trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov, NCT04282135 Registered 20 February 2020 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04282135?term=IMS&draw=2&rank=1

Rapid non- invasive detection of Influenza- A- infection by multicapillary column coupled ion mobility spectrometry

Infectious pathogens are a global issue. Global air travelling offers an easy and fast opportunity not only for people but also for infectious diseases to spread around the world within a few days. Also, large public events facilitate increasing infection numbers. Therefore, a rapid on-site screening for infected people is urgently needed. Due to the small size and easy handling, the ion mobility spectrometry coupled with a multicapillary column (MCC-IMS) is a very promising, sensitive method for the on-site identification of infectious pathogens based on scents, representing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess whether identification of Influenza-A- infection based on VOCs by MCC-IMS is possible in breath. Nasal breath was investigated in 24 consecutive persons with and without Influenza-A-infection by MCC-IMS. In 14 Influenza-A-infected patients, infection was proven by PCR of nasopharyngeal swabs. Four healthy staff members and six patients with negative PCR result served as controls. For picking up relevant VOCs in MCC-IMS spectra, software based on cluster analysis followed by multivariate statistical analysis was applied. With only four VOCs canonical discriminant analysis was able to distinguish Influenza-A-infected patients from not infected with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. This present proof-of-concept- study yields encouraging results showing a rapid diagnosis of viral infections in nasal breath within 5 minutes by MCC-IMS. The next step is to validate the results with a greater number of patients with Influenza-A-infection as well as other viral diseases, especially COVID-19. Registration number at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04282135.