A low-cost and high-efficiency 10-in-1 test for the PCR-based screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection in low-risk areas

• Published in: Chinese medical journal 2021-07, Vol.135 (4), p.496-498
• Main Authors: Qin, Xiaosong, Gao, Peng, Zhang, Zhijie, Bo, Zhijian, Li, Shijun, Yang, Mei, Liu, Jianhua, Wu, Lina, Li, Ting, Zhao, Zuowei, Li, Yan, Bian, Haodong, Liu, Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Asymptomatic; Coronaviruses; Correspondence; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Efficiency; Genes; Humans; Laboratories; Mass Screening; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Questionnaires; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641
• DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000001627

The consumption of equipment and reagents for specimen collection and detection is high, resulting in elevated screening costs. [...]with the increase in the number of samples collected, the testing capabilities of medical institutions have reached a saturation point, hindering the speed and scope of large-scale screenings. According to the RT-PCR kit instructions, the IAT samples were positive in all 19 cases, while in the 10-in-1 simulation, 18 samples were positive, and the result for the remaining cases was uncertain, as it was positive only for ORF1ab. [...]the IAT and the simulated 10-in-1 test showed a high degree of consistency, with a positive coincidence rate of 94.7%. The results obtained using CMT and IAT collections were consistent, and the Kappa values from Da’an and Mingde kits were 0.863 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.7552, 0.9708) and 0.973 (95% CI: 1.02592, 0.92008), respectively. [...]the Kappa value for 450 IAT samples tested using the Da’an and Mingde kits was 0.856. For PCR, a two-fold dilution increases the Ct value by only one. [...]this dilution can achieve the same detection efficiency as the original, preserving the assay reliability.