Evaluation of sample pooling for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a resource-limited setting, Dominican Republic

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 is a worldwide public health threat. Diagnosis by RT-PCR has been employed as the standard method to confirm viral infection. Sample pooling testing can optimize the resources by reducing the workload and reagents shortage, and be useful in laboratories and countries with limited resources. This study aims to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 detection by sample pooling testing in comparison with individual sample testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We created 210 pools out of 245 samples, varying from 4 to 10 samples per pool, each containing a positive sample. We conducted detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific RdRp/E target sites. RESULTS: Pooling of three samples for SARS-CoV-2 detection might be an efficient strategy to perform without losing RT-PCR sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the positivity rate in Dominican Republic and that larger sample pools have higher probabilities of obtaining false negative results, the optimal sample size to perform a pooling strategy shall be three samples.