Clin Lab. 2022 May 1;68(5). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2021.210851.
Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Different pooling testing strategies have been applied for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, the discrepancies among different pooling strategies are still to be explored.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the two pooling strategies of collecting respiratory specimens for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Two groups of five-sample pools were prepared to evaluate the impact of sample pooling and pooled sampling on test sensitivity, respectively. Viral RNA of coronavirus was extracted with the automation system. The N and ORF1ab genes of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were detected with real-time reverse-transcription PCR. The turnaround time of SARS-CoV-2 testing was analyzed before and after the implement of pooled sampling.
The pooled sampling displayed advantages in assay sensitivity over the sample pooling. The implementation of pooled sampling significantly shortened the turnaround time of SARS-CoV-2 testing.
The pooled sampling is an efficient and economical strategy for SARS-CoV-2 detection during the periods of high screening demand in low-prevalence areas.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的严重急性呼吸道疾病。已经应用了不同的合并检测策略来检测 SARS-CoV-2。然而，不同合并策略之间的差异仍有待探索。
本研究旨在评估两种收集呼吸道标本检测 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的合并策略。分别制备两组五个样本的合并池，以评估样本合并和合并采样对检测灵敏度的影响。使用自动化系统提取冠状病毒 RNA。采用实时逆转录聚合酶链反应检测 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的 N 和 ORF1ab 基因。分析合并采样实施前后 SARS-CoV-2 检测的周转时间。
合并采样在检测灵敏度方面优于样本合并。合并采样显著缩短了 SARS-CoV-2 检测的周转时间。
在低流行地区筛查需求高的时期，合并采样是一种用于 SARS-CoV-2 检测的高效、经济的策略。
