The potential of volatile organic compounds-based breath analysis for COVID-19 screening: a systematic review & meta-analysis.

COVID-19 is a major problem with an increasing incidence and mortality. The discovery of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) based on breath analysis offers a reliable, rapid, and affordable screening method. This study examined VOC-based breath analysis diagnostic performance for SARS-COV-2 infection compared to RT-PCR. A systematic review was conducted in 8 scientific databases based on the PRISMA guideline. Original English studies evaluating human breaths for COVID-19 screening and mentioning sensitivity and specificity value compared to RT-PCR were included. Six studies were included with a total of 4093 samples from various settings. VOCs-based breath analysis had the cumulative sensitivity of 98.2% (97.5% CI 93.1%−99.6%) and specificity of 74.3% (97.5% CI 66.4%−80.9%). Subgroup analysis on chemical analysis (GC-MS) and pattern recognition (eNose) revealed higher sensitivity in the eNose group. VOC-based breath analysis shows high sensitivity and promising specificity for COVID-19 public screening.