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. 2020 Sep 7;91(3):e2020030. doi: 10.23750/abm.v91i3.10187

Table 3.

Pragmatic indications for pooling samples for molecular diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

  • The strategy must be used for screening but not for investigating suspected (symptomatic) cases

  • The prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is <1%

  • Clinical samples rather than RNA shall be pooled

  • The molecular assay has been validated for this purpose (e.g., adequate analytical sensitivity)

  • The pool is composed by no more than 10 clinical samples (preferably 5)

  • The presence of interfering substances (e.g., antiviral therapy) has been ruled out

  • The traceability to original samples can be guaranteed throughout sample pooling and testing

  • A second aliquot is available for testing (when pool is positive)