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. 2021 Dec:113:355-358.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.10.038. Epub 2021 Oct 28.

Performance and cost-effectiveness of a pooled testing strategy for SARS-CoV-2 using real-time polymerase chain reaction in Uganda

Naghib Bogere  1 , Felix Bongomin  2 , Andrew Katende  3 , Kenneth Ssebambulidde  4 , Willy Ssengooba  5 , Henry Ssenfuka  5 , Edgar Kigozi  5 , Samuel Biraro  6 , David P Kateete  5 , Irene Andia-Biraro  7
Affiliations

Performance and cost-effectiveness of a pooled testing strategy for SARS-CoV-2 using real-time polymerase chain reaction in Uganda

Naghib Bogere et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) remains the gold standard for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study tested the performance of a pooled testing strategy for RT-PCR and its cost-effectiveness. In total, 1280 leftover respiratory samples collected between 19 April and 6 May 2021 were tested in 128 pools of 10 samples each, out of which 16 pools were positive. The positivity rate of the unpooled samples was 1.9% (24/1280). After parallel testing using the individual and pooled testing strategies, positive agreement was 100% and negative agreement was 99.8%. The overall median cycle threshold (Ct) value of the unpooled samples was 29.8 (interquartile range 22.3-34.3). Pools that remained positive when compared with the results of individual samples had lower median Ct values compared with those that turned out to be negative (28.8 versus 34.8; P=0.0.035). Pooled testing reduced the cost >4-fold. Pooled testing may be a more cost-effective approach to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 in resource-limited settings without compromising diagnostic performance.

Keywords: COVID-19; LMIC; Pooled testing; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the number of positive tests detected, total cost of testing 1280 samples, cost-effectiveness ratio and number of tests performed between pooled testing and individual testing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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