Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33784369›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Improved sensitivity, safety, and rapidity of COVID-19 tests by replacing viral storage solution with lysis buffer.

Oran Erster, Omer Shkedi, Gil Benedek, Eyal Zilber, Itay Varkovitzky, Rachel Shirazi, Dorit Oriya Shorka, Yuval Cohen, Tzahi Bar, Rafi Yechieli and 13 more

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. Effective bubble-based testing for SARS-CoV-2 using swab-pooling.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022
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  19. Nucleic Acid Testing of SARS-CoV-2.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.

Oran ErsterCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Omer ShkediFaculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Gil BenedekHadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Eyal ZilberDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Itay VarkovitzkyDirectorate of Defense Research & Development, Israeli Ministry of Defense, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Rachel ShiraziCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Dorit Oriya ShorkaHadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Yuval CohenDirectorate of Defense Research & Development, Israeli Ministry of Defense, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Tzahi BarIndependent Researcher, Israel.
Rafi YechieliIndependent Researcher, Israel.
Michal Tepperberg OikawaCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Dana VenkertDepartment of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Michal LinialDepartment of Biological Chemistry, Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Esther Oiknine-DjianHadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Michal MandelboimCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Zvi LivnehDepartment of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Gilat Shenhav-SaltzmanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Ella MendelsonCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Dana WolfHadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Moran Szwarcwort-CohenVirology Laboratory, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
Orna MorCentral Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
Yair LewisMaccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-2546-4560
Danny ZeeviDepartment of Biotechnology, Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-6901-3737
Tel Aviv University · ILHadassah Medical Center · ILSheba Medical Center · ILMinistry of Defense · ILHadassah Academic College · ILHebrew University of Jerusalem · ILRambam Health Care Campus · ILTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology · ILWeizmann Institute of Science · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Conducting numerous, rapid, and reliable PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 is essential for our ability to monitor and control the current COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we tested the sensitivity and efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 detection in clinical samples collected directly into a mix of lysis buffer and RNA preservative, thus inactivating the virus immediately after sampling. We tested 79 COVID-19 patients and 20 healthy controls. We collected two samples (nasopharyngeal swabs) from each participant: one swab was inserted into a test tube with Viral Transport Medium (VTM), following the standard guideline used as the recommended method for sample collection; the other swab was inserted into a lysis buffer supplemented with nucleic acid stabilization mix (coined NSLB). We found that RT-qPCR tests of patients were significantly more sensitive with NSLB sampling, reaching detection threshold 2.1±0.6 (Mean±SE) PCR cycles earlier then VTM samples from the same patient. We show that this improvement is most likely since NSLB samples are not diluted in lysis buffer before RNA extraction. Re-extracting RNA from NSLB samples after 72 hours at room temperature did not affect the sensitivity of detection, demonstrating that NSLB allows for long periods of sample preservation without special cooling equipment. We also show that swirling the swab in NSLB and discarding it did not reduce sensitivity compared to retaining the swab in the tube, thus allowing improved automation of COVID-19 tests. Overall, we show that using NSLB instead of VTM can improve the sensitivity, safety, and rapidity of COVID-19 tests at a time most needed.

Indexed as

Limit of DetectionSafetyAdultBuffersFemaleHumansMalePandemicsPolymerase Chain ReactionSARS-CoV-2Specimen HandlingTime FactorsBuffers

Identifiers

PMID33784369
PMCPMC8009371
OpenAlexW3147845987

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.