• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Sensibility and Specificity of the VitaPCR™ SARS-CoV-2 Assay for the Rapid Diagnosis of COVID-19 in Older Adults in the Emergency Department
  • Contributor: Piacenza, Francesco; Cherubini, Antonio; Galeazzi, Roberta; Cardelli, Maurizio; Giacconi, Robertina; Pierpaoli, Elisa; Marchegiani, Francesca; Marcheselli, Fiorella; Recchioni, Rina; Casoli, Tiziana; Farnocchia, Elisabetta; Bartozzi, Beatrice; Giorgetti, Belinda; Stripoli, Pierpaolo; Bonfigli, Anna Rita; Fedecostante, Massimiliano; Salvi, Fabio; Pansoni, Adolfo; Provinciali, Mauro; Lattanzio, Fabrizia
  • Published: MDPI AG, 2023
  • Published in: Viruses
  • Extent: 189
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.3390/v15010189
  • ISSN: 1999-4915
  • Keywords: Virology ; Infectious Diseases
  • Abstract: <jats:p>(1) Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid and reliable diagnostic tools are needed for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in urgent cases at admission to the hospital. We aimed to assess the performances of the rapid molecular VitaPCR™ test (Menarini Diagnostics) in a sample of older adults admitted to the Emergency Department of two Italian hospitals (2) Methods: The comparison between the rapid VitaPCR™ and the RT-PCR was performed in 1695 samples. Two naso-pharyngeal swab samplings from each individual were obtained and processed using the VitaPCR™ and the RT-PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 (3) Results: VitaPCR™ exhibited good precision (&lt;3% CV) and an almost perfect overall agreement (Cohen’s K = 0.90) with the RT-PCR. The limit of detection of the VitaPCR™ was 4.1 copies/µL. Compared to the RT-PCR, the sensitivity, the specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values of VitaPCR™ were 83.4%, 99.9%, 99.2% and 98.3%, respectively (4) Conclusions: The VitaPCR™ showed similar sensitivity and specificity to other molecular-based rapid tests. This study suggests that the VitaPCR™ can allow the rapid management of patients within the Emergency Department. Nevertheless, it is advisable to obtain a negative result by a RT-PCR assay before admitting a patient to a regular ward.</jats:p>
  • Description: <jats:p>(1) Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid and reliable diagnostic tools are needed for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in urgent cases at admission to the hospital. We aimed to assess the performances of the rapid molecular VitaPCR™ test (Menarini Diagnostics) in a sample of older adults admitted to the Emergency Department of two Italian hospitals (2) Methods: The comparison between the rapid VitaPCR™ and the RT-PCR was performed in 1695 samples. Two naso-pharyngeal swab samplings from each individual were obtained and processed using the VitaPCR™ and the RT-PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 (3) Results: VitaPCR™ exhibited good precision (&lt;3% CV) and an almost perfect overall agreement (Cohen’s K = 0.90) with the RT-PCR. The limit of detection of the VitaPCR™ was 4.1 copies/µL. Compared to the RT-PCR, the sensitivity, the specificity, and the positive and negative predictive values of VitaPCR™ were 83.4%, 99.9%, 99.2% and 98.3%, respectively (4) Conclusions: The VitaPCR™ showed similar sensitivity and specificity to other molecular-based rapid tests. This study suggests that the VitaPCR™ can allow the rapid management of patients within the Emergency Department. Nevertheless, it is advisable to obtain a negative result by a RT-PCR assay before admitting a patient to a regular ward.</jats:p>
  • Footnote:
  • Access State: Open Access