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Tag: testing
November 2, 2020
Norwich COVID-19 Testing Initiative Pilot: Evaluating the Feasibility of Asymptomatic Testing on a University Campus
A cross-sectional study in a university setting in England indicated that universal, repeated self-testing for COVID-19 using PCR was both acceptable, and could be feasible. Staff and student participants (n = 1053) were given four PCR swabs to self-administer over 2 weeks. 76% participants provided at least one swab, among whom 86% provided all four….
Residual SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Nasal Swabs of Convalescent COVID-19: Is Prolonged Quarantine Always Justified?
Residual SARS-CoV-2 RNA load was not substantially associated with ongoing virus replication in a prospective, multicenter observational study of residual RNA load. Nasal swab samples were collected from patients (n = 387) who clinically recovered from COVID-19. The median quantification cycle (Cq) was 37.0, and overall, 2.3% of RT-PCR positive samples with low or very…
October 30, 2020
Novel SARS-CoV-2 Whole-Genome Sequencing Technique Using Reverse Complement PCR Enables Fast and Accurate Outbreak Analysis
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A novel reverse complement polymerase chain reaction (RC-PCR) technology for whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated as a means of supporting SARS-CoV-2 monitoring by potentially saving time and resources. RC-PCR whole genome sequencing showed a genome coverage of up to 98.2% for samples with a maximum Ct value of 32. Six…
October 29, 2020
Optimal COVID-19 Quarantine and Testing Strategies
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A mathematical model found that a 13-day quarantine with testing on entry, a 9-day quarantine with testing on exit, and an 8-day quarantine with testing on entry and exit all provide equivalent or lower probability of post-quarantine transmission compared to a 14-day quarantine with no testing. When limited to a single…
October 28, 2020
Saliva Is a Promising Alternative Specimen for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Children and Adults
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] Paired testing between nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and saliva samples from 300 patients (including both pediatric and adult patients) showed that the concordance of saliva and NPS samples was 91.0% and 94.7%, respectively. The positive percent agreement was 81.4% (79/97) and 89.7% (87/97), respectively. The authors suggest that saliva can be an…
Head-to-Head Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-Detecting Rapid Test with Self-Collected Anterior Nasal Swab versus Professional-Collected Nasopharyngeal Swab
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A direct comparison between the STANDARD Q-COVID-19 Antigen Test (Ag-RDT) (Roche) and an approved RT-PCR (Roche Cobas) in samples obtained from 289 ambulatory participants demonstrated that the sensitivity of Ag-RDT with a supervised, self-collected anterior nasal swab sampling was 74.4% and specificity was 99.2%. The sensitivity with a professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab…
October 27, 2020
COVID-19 Serial Testing among Hospitalized Patients in a Midwest Tertiary Medical Center, July–September 2020
A serial COVID-19 testing program in an Iowa hospital found that out of 1,950 patients that had at least one repeat test during their admission, 19 (1%) converted from negative to positive. While the serial testing program allowed the hospital to detect seven infectious patients sooner and were able to prevent further in-hospital exposure events,…
October 23, 2020
Utilization and Results of Repeat SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Testing in a Presumptive Low Prevalence Population
In a population of patients with a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, repeat testing of negative patients who had persistent symptoms still yielded a negative result in 96% of the cases. Out of more than 5,000 patients who were tested, 4% of patients were tested more than once, and 96% of those patients were tested…
Viral Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and the Predictive Value of Repeat Testing
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Prospective longitudinal testing for SARS-CoV-2 among players, staff, and vendors associated with the National Basketball Association (n=68) indicated that on average, individuals with symptomatic infection reached similar peak viral RNA concentrations to those with asymptomatic infection (cycle threshold 22.2 vs. 22.4) within similar amounts of time, but acute shedding lasted longer for…
Frequency and Duration of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Oral Fluid Samples Assessed by a Modified Commercial Rapid Molecular Assay
A study using the Simplexa COVID-19 Direct assays on oral fluid found that the assay had high sensitivity and specificity to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Simplexa COVID-19 Direct is a rapid assay platform that does not require additional equipment. The assay was used to test oral fluids and nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected in parallel from 164…
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