ArticlePloS one2022
SARS-CoV-2 detection in multi-sample pools in a real pandemic scenario: A screening strategy of choice for active surveillance.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled surveillance testing for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital College, University of Minnesota, December 2020-April 2021.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe current COVID-19 pandemic has overloaded the diagnostic capacity of laboratories by the gold standard method rRT-PCR. This disease has a high spread rate and almost a quarter of infected individuals never develop symptoms. In this scenario, active surveillance is crucial to stop the virus propagation.
methodsBetween July 2020 and April 2021, 11,580 oropharyngeal swab samples collected in closed and semi-closed institutions were processed for SARS-CoV-2 detection in pools, implementing this strategy for the first time in Córdoba, Argentina. Five-sample pools were constituted before nucleic acid extraction and amplification by rRT-PCR. Comparative analysis of cycle threshold (Ct) values from positive pools and individual samples along with a cost-benefit report of the whole performance of the results was performed.
resultsFrom 2,314 5-sample pools tested, 158 were classified as positive (6.8%), 2,024 as negative (87.5%), and 132 were categorized as indeterminate (5.7%). The Ct value shift due to sample dilution showed an increase in Ct of 2.6±1.53 cycles for N gene and 2.6±1.78 for ORF1ab gene. Overall, 290 pools were disassembled and 1,450 swabs were analyzed individually. This strategy allowed correctly identifying 99.8% of the samples as positive (7.6%) or negative (92.2%), avoiding the execution of 7,806 rRT-PCR reactions which represents a cost saving of 67.5%.
conclusionThis study demonstrates the feasibility of pooling samples to increase the number of tests performed, helping to maximize molecular diagnostic resources and reducing the work overload of specialized personnel during active surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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