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. 2022 Oct 28;10(11):2734.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10112734.

Distribution of Viral Respiratory Infections during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using the FilmArray Respiratory Panel

Ying-Ju Chen  1   2 , Tze-Kiong Er  1   2   3
Affiliations

Distribution of Viral Respiratory Infections during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using the FilmArray Respiratory Panel

Ying-Ju Chen et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the distribution of respiratory viral pathogens in the emergency department during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Between May 2020 and September 2022, patients aged between 0.1 and 98 years arrived at the emergency department of Asia University Hospital, and samples from nasopharyngeal swabs were tested by the FilmArrayTM Respiratory Panel (RP). SARS-CoV-2 positivity was subsequently retested by the cobas Liat system. There were 804 patients for whom the FilmArrayTM RP was tested, and 225 (27.9%) of them had positive results for respiratory viruses. Rhinovirus/enterovirus was the most commonly detected pathogen, with 170 (61.8%) cases, followed by adenovirus with 38 (13.8%), SARS-CoV-2 with 16 (5.8%) cases, and coronavirus 229E, with 16 (5.8%) cases. SARS-CoV-2 PCR results were positive in 16 (5.8%) cases, and there were two coinfections of SARS-CoV-2 with adenovirus and rhinovirus/enterovirus. A total of 43 (5.3%) patients were coinfected; the most coinfection was adenovirus plus rhinovirus/enterovirus, which was detectable in 18 (41.9%) cases. No atypical pathogens were found in this study. Intriguingly, our results showed that there was prefect agreement between the detection of SARS-CoV-2 conducted with the cobas Liat SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B nucleic acid test and the FilmArrayTM RP. Therefore, the FilmArrayTM RP assay is a reliable and feasible method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. In summary, FilmArrayTM RP significantly broadens our capability to detect multiple respiratory infections due to viruses and atypical bacteria. It provides a prompt evaluation of pathogens to enhance patient care and clinical selection strategies in emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; FilmArray respiratory panel; coinfection; respiratory viral pathogens.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of respiratory organisms detected by FilmArrayTM RP assay.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly distribution of isolation rates of rhinovirus/enterovirus from emergency patients in central Taiwan from May 2021 to September 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly distribution of isolation rates of adenovirus from emergency patients in central Taiwan from May 2021 to September 2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from Asia University Hospital (ASIA-109-51019, ASIA-110-51005, ASIA-111-51023).

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