Sample pooling on the Cepheid Xpert R Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assay

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented global demand on laboratory supplies required for testing. Sample pooling has been investigated by laboratories as a strategy to preserve testing capacity. We evaluate the performance of Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay for testing samples in pools of four and six. Clinical samples containing SARS-CoV-2, and confirmed negative clinical samples were used to create sample pools. Clinical samples had ‘neat’ Xpert® E gene cycle threshold (Ct) values ranging between 20 and 28 and all were detected qualitatively when contained in pools of four or six samples. For these samples, pooling had a median change in Ct value of 2.0 in pools of four, and of 2.9 in pools of six. With the use of Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARSCoV-2 RT-PCR assay, pooling of four or six samples may be an effective strategy to increase testing capacity.

• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2020
• Institución: Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano
• Repositorio: Expeditio: repositorio UTadeo
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:expeditiorepositorio.utadeo.edu.co:20.500.12010/14514
• Acceso en línea: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2020.115238; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12010/14514
• Palabra clave: Pooling; GeneXpert; Cepheid; SARS-CoV-2; Síndrome respiratorio agudo grave; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus
• License: Abierto (Texto Completo)