Year: 2025 | Month: December | Volume: 15 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 136-146
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20251218
Comparative Evaluation of Conventional RT-PCR with Chip Based Real Time RT- PCR (TrueNat) for Detection of COVID-19
Dr Kanishtha Sharma1, Dr Kuldeep Singh2, Dr Gazala Abbas3
1Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, SMVDIME, Katra
2Professor and Head, Department of Pathology, SMVDIME, Katra
3Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, SMVDIME, Katra
Corresponding Author: Dr Kanishtha Sharma
ABSTRACT
The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has required the creation of high-speed, sensitive, and convenient molecular diagnostic solutions. This paper compares the diagnostic capability of the chip-based real-time RT-PCR (TrueNat) with the traditional real-time RT-PCR in detection of COVID-19. Nasopharyngeal qualitative samples of 400 samples were tested at an ICMR-certified laboratory. TrueNat reportedly identified 51 and 349 positive and negative samples respectively, compared to the conventional RT-PCR that reported 47 and 353 positives and negative samples, respectively. In comparison with RT-PCR that was used as the reference standard, the TrueNat assay had a sensitivity of 100, specificity of 98.8 and a combined diagnostic accuracy of 99. Ct values of the E and RdRp genes showed good correlation of the two methods (r = 0.97 and r = 0.96, respectively; p < 0.001). TrueNat also identified a small subset of low viral-load samples that were negative using the conventional RT-PCR, which suggests better analytical sensitivity. TrueNat is a viable molecular platform in decentralized testing due to its reduced turnaround time, closed-cartridge workflow and low requirements on biosafety. The results confirm that chip-based RT-PCR can be a useful and valid diagnostic platform to laboratory-based systems, especially in resources-constrained and peripheral healthcare systems, which can play a role in the quicker disease identification and enhanced capacity to respond to hazards to the public health.
Key words: SARS-CoV-2, TrueNat, RT-PCR, Diagnostic Accuracy, Viral Load.