Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36331920›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Practical considerations to establish a validated platform for pooled detection of SARS-CoV-2 by droplet digital PCR.

Sofía Heckel, Antonella Pacini, Franco Paredes, Ma Victoria Petreli, Marilina Perez, Natalia Adriani, Guadalupe Ibarra, Hugo Menzella, Alejandro Colaneri, Juliana Sesma

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

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.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 48% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sofía HeckelMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Antonella PaciniMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Franco ParedesMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.ORCID 0000-0002-9916-0367
Ma Victoria PetreliMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Marilina PerezMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Natalia AdrianiMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Guadalupe IbarraMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.
Hugo MenzellaInstituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario (IPROByQ), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.ORCID 0000-0001-6930-2400
Alejandro ColaneriConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Juliana SesmaMolecular Biology Department, Hospital Provincial de Rosario (HPR), Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina.ORCID 0000-0002-5670-3616
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas · ARHospital Provincial de Rosario · AR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 has created an enormous workload for laboratories worldwide resulting in a restriction at the time of massive testing. Pool testing is a strategy that reduces time and costs. However, beyond the detection of infectious diseases in blood banks, this approach is rarely implemented in routine laboratories. Therefore, what was learned from the SARS-CoV-2 pool testing should represent an opportunity to increase diagnostic capabilities. The present work, carried out in the context of a diagnostic laboratory of a public hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, represents a contribution to this end. The main limitation of pool testing is the risk of false negatives that could have been identified by individual tests. These limitations are the dilution of samples with a low virus load during pooling and that the integrity of the sample may be affected by the quality of the sample collection. Fortunately, both limitations coincide with the main strengths of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). ddPCR is a third-generation PCR that splits the amplification into thousands of droplets that work in parallel, increasing sensitivity and resistance to inhibitors. Therefore, ddPCR is particularly useful for pool testing. Here we show how to factor between test sensitivity and savings in test time and resources. We have identified and optimized critical parameters for pool testing. The present study, which analyzed 1000 nasopharyngeal samples, showed that the pool testing could detect even a single positive sample with a CT value of up to 30 in pools of 34 samples. This test was performed using three different standard extraction methods, the simplest being heating only, which resulted in substantial savings of extraction reagents in addition to PCR reagents. Moreover, we show that pooling can be extended to use saliva, which is less invasive and allows self-collection, reducing the risk for health personnel.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2COVID-19 TestingHumansPandemicsReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionSensitivity and SpecificitySpecimen Handling

Identifiers

PMID36331920
PMCPMC9635689
OpenAlexW4308193807

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.