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: PowerChek 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 FilmArray 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. (Clin. Lab. 2024;70:1294-1299. DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2024.231232)