ArticleCommunications medicine2022
Predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant impacts accuracy when screening for infection using exhaled breath vapor.
Article in Communications medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- A comprehensive meta-analysis and systematic review of breath analysis in detection of COVID-19 through Volatile organic compounds.Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease · 2024Pooled it
- A silicon microneedle array atmospheric pressure plasma ionization source for real-time trace gas chemical analysis.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Article
- Harnessing breath biomarkers for pneumonia diagnosis and prognosis.Expert review of respiratory medicine · 2026Review
- Impacts of vaping and marijuana use on airway health as determined by exhaled breath condensate (EBC).Respiratory research · 2025Article
- Detection of COVID-19 by quantitative analysis of carbonyl compounds in exhaled breath.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A feasibility study on exhaled breath analysis using UV spectroscopy to detect COVID-19.Journal of breath research · 2023Article
- Oxylipin concentration shift in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.Journal of breath research · 2023Article
- Portable Breath-Based Volatile Organic Compound Monitoring for the Detection of COVID-19 During the Circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant and the Transition to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant.JAMA network open · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNew technologies with novel and ambitious approaches are being developed to diagnose or screen for SARS-CoV-2, including breath tests. The US FDA approved the first breath test for COVID-19 under emergency use authorization in April 2022. Most breath-based assays measure volatile metabolites exhaled by persons to identify a host response to infection. We hypothesized that the breathprint of COVID-19 fluctuated after Omicron became the primary variant of transmission over the Delta variant.
methodsWe collected breath samples from 142 persons with and without a confirmed COVID-19 infection during the Delta and Omicron waves. Breath samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
resultsHere we show that based on 63 exhaled compounds, a general COVID-19 model had an accuracy of 0.73 ± 0.06, which improved to 0.82 ± 0.12 when modeling only the Delta wave, and 0.84 ± 0.06 for the Omicron wave. The specificity improved for the Delta and Omicron models (0.79 ± 0.21 and 0.74 ± 0.12, respectively) relative to the general model (0.61 ± 0.13).
conclusionsWe report that the volatile signature of COVID-19 in breath differs between the Delta-predominant and Omicron-predominant variant waves, and accuracies improve when samples from these waves are modeled separately rather than as one universal approach. Our findings have important implications for groups developing breath-based assays for COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens, as the host response to infection may significantly differ depending on variants or subtypes.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.