Respiratory Viruses Co-detection on a Multiplex RT-PCR Panel: a Comparative Clinical Study.

BACKGROUND

The FilmArray Respiratory Panel RP 2.1 plus (FilmArray RP) is a point-of-care syndromic panel for respiratory pathogens. Although highly valuable in the clinical settings, the co-detection of pathogens in FilmArray RP may confound result interpretation.

METHODS

Nasopharyngeal swab specimens collected from patients with respiratory symptoms were analyzed by comparing co-detection results from FilmArray RP with those of Allplex Respiratory Panels (Allplex RP: Power-Chek for SARS-CoV-2).

RESULTS

Out of 765 FilmArray RP tests, 143 (18.7%) showed co-detections (two: 122 (85.3%), three: 18 (12.6%), four: 2 (1.4%), and five viruses: 1 (0.7%). The most frequent co-detection was human rhinovirus/enterovirus (HRV/HEV) with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (22.3%, 32/143). The overall discordance rate between Film-Array RP and other tests was 32.9%. Notably, discordance in detecting adenovirus (AdV) was significant, with cases detected by FilmArray often not appearing in Allplex RP.

CONCLUSIONS

Discordances were varied by virus combination. It is advisable to perform additional confirmatory testing based on clinical relevance.