Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
Case ReportsImmunochromatographic test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva.
We evaluated the rapid immunochromatographic test for severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen detection using 16 saliva specimens collected from 6 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, and detected N-antigen in 4 of 7 RT-PCR positive specimens. This POCT detected SARS-CoV-2 antigen in saliva and would be useful for COVID-19 diagnosis.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
Analysis of a persistent viral shedding patient infected with SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR, FilmArray Respiratory Panel v2.1, and antigen detection.
Various diagnostic tests utilizing different principles are currently under development for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, these tests can occasionally produce discrepant results, causing confusion in their interpretation. Here, we evaluated the performance and features of three diagnostic assays: quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), FilmArray Respiratory Panel (RP) v2.1, and the LUMIPULSE antigen test. ⋯ These results demonstrated FilmArray RP v2.1 could detect SARS-CoV-2 with accuracy comparable to RT-qPCR. Further, there were discrepant results using different types of diagnostic tests during the clinical course of prolonged viral shedding patient. We provided insights into how to utilize different types of kits to assess and manage SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
CT screening for COVID-19 in asymptomatic patients before hospital admission.
In the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic era, it is essential to rule out COVID-19 effectively to prevent transmission in both communities and medical facilities. According to previous reports in high prevalence areas, CT screening may be useful in the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, the value of CT screening in low prevalence areas has scarcely been reported. ⋯ CT screening was not useful in low prevalence areas at this time in Tokyo, even with the inclusion of the most prevalent phase. Given that the utility of CT screening depends on disease prevalence, the criteria for performing CT screening based on the prevalence of COVID-19 should be established.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
SARS-CoV-2 detection by fluorescence loop-mediated isothermal amplification with and without RNA extraction.
Rapid and simple point-of-care detection of SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent need to prevent pandemic. Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) can detect SARS-CoV-2 more rapidly than RT-PCR. ⋯ The sensitivity and specificity of the RT-fLAMP with RNA extraction were 97% and 100%, respectively, with equivalent utility of NPS and saliva. However, sensitivity was decreased to 71% and 47% in NPS and saliva samples without RNA extraction, respectively, suggesting that RNA extraction process may be critical for the virus detection by RT-fLAMP.
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J. Infect. Chemother. · Feb 2021
Evaluation of clinical utility of novel coronavirus antigen detection reagent, Espline® SARS-CoV-2.
To prevent the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is necessary to perform early identification and isolation of people shedding the infectious virus in biological materials with high viral loads several days prior to symptom onset. Rapid antigen tests for infectious diseases are useful to prevent the pandemic spread in clinical settings. ⋯ Although the overall sensitivity of the Espline® SARS-CoV-2 reagent compared with RT-PCR is less, this antigen test can be useful in identifying people with high risk of virus transmission with high viral loads in order to prevent the pandemic and is useful for diagnosing COVID-19 within 30 min.