Optimization and clinical evaluation of a multi-target loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection of sars-cov-2 in nasopharyngeal samples

8Citations
Citations of this article
49Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, which has spread worldwide, affecting more than 200 countries, infecting over 140 million people in one year. The gold standard to identify infected people is RT-qPCR, which is highly sensitive, but needs specialized equipment and trained personnel. The demand for these reagents has caused shortages in certain countries. Isothermal nucleic acid techniques, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) have emerged as an alternative or as a complement to RT-qPCR. In this study, we developed and evaluated a multi-target RT-LAMP for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The method was evaluated against an RT-qPCR in 152 clinical nasopharyngeal swab samples. The results obtained indicated that both assays presented a “good concordance” (Cohen’s k of 0.69), the RT-LAMP was highly specific (99%) but had lower sensitivity compared to the gold standard (63.3%). The calculated low sensitivity was associated with samples with very low viral load (RT-qPCR Cq values higher than 35) which may be associated with non-infectious individuals. If an internal Cq threshold below 35 was set, the sensitivity and Cohen’s k increased to 90.9% and 0.92, respectively. The interpretation of the Cohen’s k for this was “very good concordance”. The RT-LAMP is an attractive approach for frequent individual testing in decentralized setups.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Roumani, F., Azinheiro, S., Sousa, H., Sousa, A., Timóteo, M., Varandas, T., … Garrido-Maestu, A. (2021). Optimization and clinical evaluation of a multi-target loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection of sars-cov-2 in nasopharyngeal samples. Viruses, 13(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050940

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free