Comparative Evaluation of Allplex Respiratory Panels 1, 2, 3, and BioFire FilmArray Respiratory Panel for the Detection of Respiratory Infections.

Harshad Lade,Eun-Kyung Mo,Yousun Chung,Jae-Seok Kim,Jung-Min Kim,Minje Han

doi:10.3390/diagnostics12010009

Harshad Lade, Eun-Kyung Mo + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12010009

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Abstract

Multiplex nucleic acid amplification assays that simultaneously detect multiple respiratory pathogens in a single nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimen are widely used for rapid clinical diagnostics. We evaluated Allplex Respiratory Panel (RP) 1, 2, 3, and the BioFire FilmArray RP assay for detecting respiratory pathogens from NPS specimens. In all, 181 NPS specimens obtained from patients suspected of having respiratory infections during the non-influenza season (August–December 2019) were included. The Allplex RP 1, 2, and 3 detected 154 samples positive for respiratory viruses, whereas the BioFire FilmArray detected viruses in 98 samples. Co-infection with two or more viruses was detected in 41 and 17 NPS specimens by Allplex RP and the BioFire FilmArray RP, respectively. For adenoviruses, Allplex RP 1 detected 31 specimens, compared to 34 by the BioFire FilmArray. In all, 64 NPS specimens were positive for human enterovirus (HEV) and human rhinovirus (HRV) on the Allplex RP, in contrast to 39 HEV/HRV on the BioFire FilmArray. The parainfluenza virus (PIV-1–4) detection rate differed between the two systems. Most discrepant results were observed for NPS specimens with high cycle threshold values obtained by Allplex RP. This study showed concordant performance of the Allplex RP 1, 2, 3, and the BioFire FilmArray RP for the simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory viruses.

Highlights

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a common and major cause of illnesses frequently seen in children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients, leading to hospitalization [1,2]
Fungi, and viruses can result in respiratory infections, but viruses have been the major etiology in ARIs; the most common viruses include human adenovirus (AdV), human coronavirus (229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1), influenza A virus (FluA), influenza B virus (FluB), human bocavirus 1/2/3/4 (HBoV), human enterovirus (HEV), human metapneumovirus (MPV), human rhinovirus (HRV), parainfluenza virus 1 (PIV-1), parainfluenza virus 2 (PIV-2), parainfluenza virus 3 (PIV-3), parainfluenza virus
No viruses were detected in 90 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimens by the Allplex Respiratory Panel (RP) 1, 2, and 3 assays and 102 NPS specimens using the BioFire FilmArray RP assay

Summary

Introduction

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a common and major cause of illnesses frequently seen in children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients, leading to hospitalization [1,2]. With ARI symptoms such as flu, cold, and sore throat are common to different pathogens, the accurate and rapid detection of an etiological agent is crucial for timely patient management, preventing the secondary spread of infection, and reducing hospital stays [5]. Rapid multiplex nucleic acid amplification assays have been developed and widely used to detect respiratory pathogens in nasopharyngeal samples [6]. Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays utilize nucleic acids from etiological agents as biomarkers and allow the rapid simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory pathogens in a single test with an easy sample-to-answer workflow [7,8,9,10,11]

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