Comparison between five PCR techniques for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2.

OBJECTIVE: Since the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 appeared, there have been numerous techniques that have been developed for the diagnosis or monitoring of infection, both direct and serological techniques. Choosing a good diagnostic tool is essential for epidemiological control. The objective was to compare five commercialized RT-PCR techniques in real time, in sensitivity, specificity and agreement for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: Five commercial RT-PCR kits for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 were compared. Eight known positive samples were taken and subjected to seven different dilutions or concentrations, and another 135 negative samples were used to determine sensitivity, specificity, and agreement values. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for the Palex, Roche and GeneXpert techniques with respect to Seegene were identical, corresponding to 98.21%, 100%, 100% and 99.26% respectively. For Becton Dickinson the sensitivity was 89.28%, the specificity of 100%, the PPV of 100% and the NPV of 95.74%. The agreement using the Kappa index for Palex, Roche and GeneXpert was 0.9892, while the agreement for Becton Dickinson was with a Kappa index of 0.9215. CONCLUSIONS: All commercial RT-PCR kits had high sensitivities and specificities, as well as PPV, NPV, and concordance.

[Use of Digital Health Records and "WebMovil" corporate service in the communication management of critical results of Microbiology, in the context of a primary health care area]. / Utilización de la Historia Digital de Salud y la aplicación "WebMovil" corporativa en la gestión de la comunicación de resultados críticos de Microbiología, en el ámbito de Atención Primaria de un Área Sanitaria.

INTRODUCTION: The objective was to describe and evaluate a new communication protocol of reporting critical results applied to Microbiology in a health area of Andalusia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The size and type of the critical values of Microbiology are analyzed for primary care patients. A new computerized reporting system was analyzed, in real time, through Diraya Digital Health Records, which integrates the analytical test module (MPA). The protocol is complemented, in collaboration with the Information Technology (IT), with the Junta de Andalucía short message service (SMS) "WebMovil". RESULTS: The total number of notices of critical results by the new protocol in 2012 was 817. The number of critical values for primary care was 570, of which 90 were for Microbiology. The most frequent notice was by isolation in the stool culture (n = 51; 56.67%). The prevalence of the critical values of Microbiology in primary care was 0.45/100. The average time of notifications was 13 minutes. The success rate of notifications was 97.7% and 0% obtained in the number of withdrawals. In 99.93% of cases the contact with the patient was stated and in 98.55% the medical intervention was also confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: Communication by a computerized system linked to the SMS technology showed a reduction in the time of notification, and produced additional benefits, such as eliminating the risk of error when there is no repetition of information from the recipient received by the laboratory. Furthermore, the use of SMS messages ensures that doctors on duty always receive information immediately.