Detection of SARS-CoV-2 through pool testing for COVID-19: an integrative review

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Murilo Soares Costa, Nathalia Sernizon Guimarães, André Barbosa de Andrade, Luiza Passini Vaz-Tostes, Rhuan Braga Oliveira, Madara da Silva Simões, Gabriel de Oliveira Gelape, Claudia Regina Lindgren Alves, Elaine Leandro Machado, Flávio Guimarães da Fonseca, Santuza Maria Ribeiro Teixeira, Hugo Itaru Sato, Ricardo Hiroshi Caldeira Takahashi, Unaí Tupinambás
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2021
• Subjects: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Pool testing; Diagnosis; Pandemic; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0276-2021; https://doaj.org/article/94135e9863074bc897eec98f5d3a509b

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The pool testing technique optimizes the number of tests performed and reduces the delivery time of results, which is an interesting strategy for the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This integrative review investigated studies in which pool testing was carried out for epidemiological or screening purposes to analyze its clinical or cost effectiveness and assessed the applicability of this method in high-, middle-, and low-income countries. METHODS: This integrative review used primary studies published in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), and Cochrane Library databases. RESULTS: A total of 435 studies were identified: 35.3% were carried out in Asia, 29.4% in Europe, 29.4% in North America, and 5.9% in Oceania. CONCLUSIONS: This review suggests that pool testing in the general population may be a useful surveillance strategy to detect new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and to evaluate the period of immunogenicity and global immunity from vaccines.