Optimizing SARS-CoV-2 Pooled Testing Strategies Through Differentiated Pooling for Distinct Groups.

ABSTRACT: Pooled testing has been successfully used to expand SARS-CoV-2 testing, especially in settings requiring high volumes of screening of lower-risk individuals, but efficiency of pooling declines as prevalence rises. We propose a differentiated pooling strategy that independently optimizes pool sizes for distinct groups with different probabilities of infection to further improve the efficiency of pooled testing. We compare the efficiency (results obtained per test kit used) of the differentiated strategy to a traditional pooling strategy in which all samples are processed using uniform pool sizes under a range of scenarios. For most scenarios, differentiated pooling is more efficient than traditional pooling. In scenarios examined here, an improvement in efficiency of up to 3.94 results per

SUBMITTER: Filiatreau LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9620733 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature