1887
Rapid communication Open Access
Like 0

Abstract

We report the performance of a variety of commercially available SARS-CoV-2 PCR kits, used in several different sites across Ireland to determine if C values across platforms are comparable. We also investigate whether a C value, a surrogate for calculated viral loads in the absence of viral culture of > 34 can be used to exclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and its complications. We found a variation in Cvalues from different assays for the same calculated viral load; this should be taken into consideration for result interpretation.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.6.2002079
2021-02-11
2024-10-13
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.6.2002079
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/26/6/eurosurv-26-6-2.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.6.2002079&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Health Service Executive (HSE). HSE 2020, Proposal for the management of weak positive (high Ct value) PCR results in the setting of mass testing of asymptomatic individuals for SARS-CoV-2, V1.1 08.10.2020. Ireland: HSE; Dec 2020. Available from: https://www.hpsc.ie/az/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/outbreakmanagementguidance/PCR%20weak%20results%20guidance.pdf
  2. Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Protection Surveillance Centre. (HPSC). Guidance on the management of weak positive (high Ct value) PCR results in the setting of testing individuals for SARS-CoV-2 V1.2 22.12.2020. Ireland: HSE HPSC. Available from: https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/outbreakmanagementguidance/PCR%20weak%20results%20guidance.pdf
  3. Tom MR, Mina MJ. To Interpret the SARS-CoV-2 Test, Consider the Cycle Threshold Value. Clin Infect Dis. 2020;71(16):2252-4.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa619  PMID: 32435816 
  4. Salvatore PP, Dawson P, Wadhwa A, Rabold EM, Buono S, Dietrich EA, et al. Epidemiological Correlates of Polymerase Chain Reaction Cycle Threshold Values in the Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Clin Infect Dis. 2020;ciaa1469.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1469  PMID: 32986120 
  5. Quality Control for Molecular Diagnostics (QCMD). [Accessed 11 Feb 2021]. Available from: http://www.qcmd.org/
  6. Marais G, Naidoo M, Hsiao NY, Valley-Omar Z, Smuts H, Hardie D. The implementation of a rapid sample preparation method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a diagnostic laboratory in South Africa. PLoS One. 2020;15(10):e0241029.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241029  PMID: 33079951 
  7. La Scola B, Le Bideau M, Andreani J, Hoang VT, Grimaldier C, Colson P, et al. Viral RNA load as determined by cell culture as a management tool for discharge of SARS-CoV-2 patients from infectious disease wards. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020;39(6):1059-61.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-020-03913-9  PMID: 32342252 
  8. Yip CC, Sridhar S, Cheng AK, Leung KH, Choi GK, Chen JH, et al. Evaluation of the commercially available LightMix® Modular E-gene kit using clinical and proficiency testing specimens for SARS-CoV-2 detection. J Clin Virol. 2020;129:104476.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104476  PMID: 32516739 
  9. Ra SH, Lim JS, Kim GU, Kim MJ, Jung J, Kim SH. Upper respiratory viral load in asymptomatic individuals and mildly symptomatic patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thorax. 2021;76(1):61-3.  https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215042  PMID: 32963115 
  10. Piubelli C, Deiana M, Pomari E, Silva R, Bisoffi Z, Formenti F, et al. Overall decrease in SARS-CoV-2 viral load and reduction in clinical burden: the experience of a hospital in northern Italy. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2021;27(1):131.e1-3.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.10.006  PMID: 33059091 
  11. Buchan BW, Hoff JS, Gmehlin CG, Perez A, Faron ML, Munoz-Price LS, et al. Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 PCR Cycle Threshold Values Provide Practical Insight Into Overall and Target-Specific Sensitivity Among Symptomatic Patients. Am J Clin Pathol. 2020;154(4):479-85.  https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcp/aqaa133  PMID: 32687186 
  12. Binnicker MJ. Challenges and Controversies to Testing for COVID-19. J Clin Microbiol. 2020;58(11):e01695-20.  https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01695-20  PMID: 32817231 
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.6.2002079
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error