Assessment of Specimen Pooling to Conserve SARS CoV-2 Testing Resources
- PMID: 32304208
- PMCID: PMC7188150
- DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa064
Assessment of Specimen Pooling to Conserve SARS CoV-2 Testing Resources
Abstract
Objectives: To establish the optimal parameters for group testing of pooled specimens for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: The most efficient pool size was determined to be five specimens using a web-based application. From this analysis, 25 experimental pools were created using 50 µL from one SARS-CoV-2 positive nasopharyngeal specimen mixed with 4 negative patient specimens (50 µL each) for a total volume of 250 µL. Viral RNA was subsequently extracted from each pool and tested using the CDC SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay. Positive pools were consequently split into individual specimens and tested by extraction and PCR. This method was also tested on an unselected group of 60 nasopharyngeal specimens grouped into 12 pools.
Results: All 25 pools were positive with cycle threshold (Ct) values within 0 and 5.03 Ct of the original individual specimens. The analysis of 60 specimens determined that 2 pools were positive followed by identification of 2 individual specimens among the 60 tested. This testing was accomplished while using 22 extractions/PCR tests, a savings of 38 reactions.
Conclusions: When the incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection is 10% or less, group testing will result in the saving of reagents and personnel time with an overall increase in testing capability of at least 69%.
Keywords: COVID-19; Group testing; SARS CoV-2.
© American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Figures
Update of
-
Assessment of Specimen Pooling to Conserve SARS CoV-2 Testing Resources.medRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 Apr 6:2020.04.03.20050195. doi: 10.1101/2020.04.03.20050195. medRxiv. 2020. Update in: Am J Clin Pathol. 2020 May 5;153(6):715-718. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa064. PMID: 32511649 Free PMC article. Updated. Preprint.
Comment in
-
Cohort PCR Testing: A Strategic Method for Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Screening.Am J Clin Pathol. 2020 Jul 7;154(2):278-279. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa092. Am J Clin Pathol. 2020. PMID: 32472673 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Assessment of Specimen Pooling to Conserve SARS CoV-2 Testing Resources.medRxiv [Preprint]. 2020 Apr 6:2020.04.03.20050195. doi: 10.1101/2020.04.03.20050195. medRxiv. 2020. Update in: Am J Clin Pathol. 2020 May 5;153(6):715-718. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqaa064. PMID: 32511649 Free PMC article. Updated. Preprint.
-
Evaluation of simple nucleic acid extraction methods for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal and saliva specimens during global shortage of extraction kits.J Clin Virol. 2020 Aug;129:104519. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104519. Epub 2020 Jun 23. J Clin Virol. 2020. PMID: 32629187 Free PMC article.
-
Pooled testing for COVID-19 diagnosis by real-time RT-PCR: A multi-site comparative evaluation of 5- & 10-sample pooling.Indian J Med Res. 2020 Jul & Aug;152(1 & 2):88-94. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_2304_20. Indian J Med Res. 2020. PMID: 32893844 Free PMC article.
-
Understanding, Verifying, and Implementing Emergency Use Authorization Molecular Diagnostics for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.J Clin Microbiol. 2020 Jul 23;58(8):e00796-20. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00796-20. Print 2020 Jul 23. J Clin Microbiol. 2020. PMID: 32381642 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Sample pooling strategies for SARS-CoV-2 detection.J Virol Methods. 2021 Mar;289:114044. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2020.114044. Epub 2020 Dec 11. J Virol Methods. 2021. PMID: 33316285 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Clinical sensitivity and time-to-result of a cascaded pooled testing approach for assessing the prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium infection.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Aug 22;18(8):e0012435. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012435. eCollection 2024 Aug. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024. PMID: 39173069 Free PMC article.
-
Strategies for Increasing the Throughput of Genetic Screening: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic within a University Community.BioTech (Basel). 2024 Jul 11;13(3):26. doi: 10.3390/biotech13030026. BioTech (Basel). 2024. PMID: 39051341 Free PMC article.
-
binGroup2: Statistical Tools for Infection Identification via Group Testing.R J. 2023 Dec;15(4):21-36. doi: 10.32614/rj-2023-081. Epub 2024 Apr 10. R J. 2023. PMID: 38818016 Free PMC article.
-
Evaluations of modes of pooling specimens for COVID-19 screened by quantitative PCR and droplet digital PCR.Sci Rep. 2024 May 13;14(1):10923. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61631-0. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 38740976 Free PMC article.
-
Clinical performance of AI-integrated risk assessment pooling reveals cost savings even at high prevalence of COVID-19.Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 17;14(1):8853. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-59068-6. Sci Rep. 2024. PMID: 38632289 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Dwyre DM, Fernando LP, Holland PV. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV transfusion-transmitted infections in the 21st century. Vox Sang. 2011;100:92-98. - PubMed
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous