Sample pooling is a viable strategy for SARS-CoV-2 detection in low-prevalence settings.

ABSTRACT: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has significantly increased demand on laboratory throughput and reagents for nucleic acid extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Reagent shortages may limit the expansion of testing required to scale back containment measures. The aims of this study were to investigate the viability of sample pooling as a strategy for increasing test throughput and conserving PCR reagents; and to report our early experience with pooling of clinical samples. A pre-implementation study was performed to assess the sensitivity and theoretical efficiency of two, four, and eight-sample pools in a real-time reverse transcription PCR-based workflow. A standard operating procedure was developed and implemented in two laboratories dur

SUBMITTER: Chong BSW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7508550 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature