| Author/Editor | Kogoj, Rok; Resman Rus, Katarina; Uršič, Tina | |
| Title | Shortening turnaround time for high-priority patients during the COVID-19 epidemic | |
| Translated title | Skrajšanje časa od sprejema vzorca do izvida za covid-19 pri prioritetnih bolnikih | |
| Type | članek | |
| Vol. and No. | Letnik 89, št. 11/12 | |
| Publication year | 2020 | |
| Volume | str. 614-625 | |
| ISSN | 1318-0347 - Zdravniški vestnik : glasilo Slovenskega zdravniškega društva : Slovenian medical journal | |
| Language | eng | |
| Abstract | Background: Although several molecular tests are now available for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasopharyngeal swab samples, the number of requested tests exceeds the capacity of many diagnostic laboratories. Unfortunately, the available high-throughput platforms exhibit longer turnaround times than those required for management of high-priority patients. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and possible benefits of the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test, focusing mainly on turnaround time when applied to high-priority patients. We evaluated the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test in comparison to the Roche's cobas 6800 SARS-CoV-2 test by monitoring turnaround times and by retrospectively testing 20 nasopharyngeal swabs from COVID-19 patients with various viral loads. In addition, 50 patients were tested by both methods prospectively. Results: We observed a lower limit of detection of one SARS-CoV-2 genome equivalent/[micro]L and 100% (95% CI, 92.6-100%) specificity and 95.5% (95% CI, 77.2-99.9%) sensitivity in comparison to the cobas SARS-CoV-2 test. When applying the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test for high-priority patients the turnaround time could be greatly reduced, i.e. from 3 - 5 hours that take our routine diagnostics methods to about 1 hour. Conclusion: The novel Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test is a useful, easy to perform tool, valuable for rapid and reliable diagnosis of COVID-19, especially in high-priority patients when a short turnaround time is of key importance for further patient management. | |
| Keywords | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 prioritetni bolniki SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 high-priority patients |