The diagnosis of COVID-19 relies on the direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in respiratory specimens by RT-PCR. The pandemic spread of the disease caused an imbalance between demand and supply of materials and reagents needed for diagnostic purposes including swab sets. In a comparative effectiveness study, we conducted serial follow-up swabs in hospitalized laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. We assessed the diagnostic performance of an in-house system developed according to recommendations by the US CDC. In a total of 96 serial swabs, we found significant differences in the accuracy of the different swab systems to generate a positive result in SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, ranging from around 50 to 80%. Of note, an in-house swab system was superior to most commercially available sets as reflected by significantly lower Ct values of viral genes. Thus, a simple combination of broadly available materials may enable diagnostic laboratories to bypass global limitations in the supply of swab sets.
【저자키워드】 viral infection, Infectious-disease diagnostics, 【초록키워드】 pandemic, Hospitalized, diagnostic, RT-PCR, Laboratory, Spread, Viral, Accuracy, swabs, Effectiveness, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Follow-up, Swab, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, respiratory, COVID-19 patients, Combination, respiratory specimens, Ct values, Imbalance, significant difference, significant differences, house, reagents, positive result, supply, limitation, pandemic spread, reagent, viral genes, laboratory-confirmed, US CDC, significantly lower, recommendation, respiratory specimen, caused, the disease, generate, conducted, reflected, diagnosis of COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, diagnostics, Laboratory, Swab, limitation,