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Specific molecular peak analysis by ion mobility spectrometry of volatile organic compounds in urine of COVID-19 patients: A novel diagnostic approach.

Authors :
Boeselt T
Terhorst P
Kroenig J
Nell C
Spielmanns M
Boas U
Veith M
Vogelmeier C
Greulich T
Koczulla AR
Beutel B
Huber J
Heers H
Source :
Journal of virological methods [J Virol Methods] 2024 May; Vol. 326, pp. 114910. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 05.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 is usually diagnosed from naso-/oropharyngeal swabs which are uncomfortable and prone to false results. This study investigated a novel diagnostic approach to Covid-19 measuring volatile organic compounds (VOC) from patients' urine.<br />Methods: Between June 2020 and February 2021, 84 patients with positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 were recruited as well as 54 symptomatic individuals with negative RT-PCR. Midstream urine samples were obtained for VOC analysis using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) which detects individual molecular components of a gas sample based on their size, configuration, and charge after ionization.<br />Results: Peak analysis of the 84 Covid and 54 control samples showed good group separation. In total, 37 individual specific peaks were identified, 5 of which (P134, 198, 135, 75, 136) accounted for significant differences between groups, resulting in sensitivities of 89-94% and specificities of 82-94%. A decision tree was generated from the relevant peaks, leading to a combined sensitivity and specificity of 98% each.<br />Discussion: VOC-based diagnosis can establish a reliable separation between urine samples of Covid-19 patients and negative controls. Molecular peaks which apparently are disease-specific were identified. IMS is an additional non-invasive and cheap device for the diagnosis of this ongoing endemic infection. Further studies are needed to validate sensitivity and specificity.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1879-0984
Volume :
326
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of virological methods
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
38452823
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.114910