Role of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction in Cornea Donors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Cornea
; 40(8): 1044-1047, 2021 08 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1211435
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this study was to report the analysis of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal (NP) samples of cornea donors dying because of causes unrelated to severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).METHODS:
A retrospective analysis of all cornea donors dying from causes other than SARS-CoV-2 between August 2020 and December 2020 was performed. Informed consent was obtained from the next of kin of the deceased for RT-PCR testing from NP swabs. Rapid antigen testing from all the deceased was performed before in situ cornea excision. In addition, NP samples in viral transport media for RT-PCR were also collected for SARS-CoV-2 analysis. Corneas were released from the eye bank only after a negative RT-PCR report.RESULT:
One hundred eighteen corneas from 59 donors were obtained by the eye bank. Eleven donors (18.64%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR testing. Six of these 11 donors had a Ct value of E gene less than 25.CONCLUSIONS:
NP samples of cornea donors dying due to causes other than coronavirus disease-19 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR. This implicates that donors could be having asymptomatic/undetected coronavirus disease infection. We recommend adding the routine testing of NP samples of all cornea donors in the eye banking protocol in this ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Tissue Donors
/
Nasopharynx
/
Eye Banks
/
Asymptomatic Infections
/
COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Language:
English
Journal:
Cornea
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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