Demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic characteristics of persons under investigation for Coronavirus Disease 2019-United States, January 17-February 29, 2020

This report describes the demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic characteristics of 544 U.S. persons under investigation (PUI) for complete SARS-CoV-2 testing from January 17 through February 29, 2020. The findings can inform preparedness for future pandemics, including the capacity for rapid expansion of novel diagnostic tests to accommodate broad surveillance strategies

Predictors of laboratory-positive COVID-19 in children and teenagers

Data from 1849 individuals were analyzed. COVID-19 was confirmed in 15.9% of patients. Increasing age, personal history of obesity, and household contact with a case were found to be associated with increased odds of a positive test result. Young patients residing in areas with higher population sizes were less likely to be laboratory confirmed.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 Infections in Critical Care Staff: Beware the Risks Beyond the Bedside

We compared the timing of symptoms in the first wave of the pandemic to the time it was at its peak. Participants completed a questionnaire and provided a serum sample for severe acute respiratory syndrome. We compared the findings to a large-scale study to see how the virus was transmitted. The virus was in the form of a case of mistaken identity. It was in a 3-day period in April 2020 at a hospital in the United Kingdom.

Clinical evaluation of a SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay on a fully automated system for rapid on-demand testing in the hospital setting

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic presents a unique challenge for diagnostic laboratories around the world. The E-Gene-LDT showed analytical and clinical performance comparable to the cobas6800-based reference assay. The system is very well suited for providing fast-tracked diagnostics for urgent clinical samples in the hospital setting.

Sample pooling for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR screening

3519 nasopharyngeal samples received at nine Spanish microbiology laboratories were processed individually and in pools. Sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive values for pooling were 97.10% (95% confidence interval (CI), 94.11-98.82), 100%, 100% and 99.79% respectively.

Evaluation of the Aptima™ transcription-mediated amplification assay (Hologic®) for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in clinical specimens

This week's episode focuses on a case study of a case involving a case of mistaken identity. The case study was about a case where the media focused on what happened to an individual, not the case itself. This week, the focus was on the use of technology in a case that has been dubbed "the most scrutinized case in history"

Comparison of the GeneFinder TM COVID-19 Plus RealAmp Kit on the sample-to-result Platform ELITe InGenius to the national reference method: An added value of N gene target detection?

The study was to assess the diagnostic performance of the GeneFinderTMCOVID-19 Plus RealAmp Kit on the ELITe InGenius sample-to-result platform. Of 128 randomly selected patients, 58 (45%) tested positive and 55 (43%) tested negative in both platforms. The sensitivity of the In Genius platform was 100% (95% confidence interval 94-100).

Evaluation of dried blood spots as alternative sampling material for serological detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using established ELISAs

During the current pandemic, antibody testing based on venous serum helps to determine whether the tested person has been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Alternatively, capillary blood can be taken via a finger prick (dried blood spots, DBS).

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