Reverse Transcriptase Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) for COVID-19 diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 pandemic has become a global public health priority. The rapid increase in infection numbers, along with a significant number of deaths, has made the virus a serious threat to human health. Rapid, reliable, and simple diagnostic methods are critical to controlling the disease. While Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is the current diagnostic gold standard, Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) appears to be a compelling alternative diagnostic test due to its greater simplicity, shorter time to obtain a result, and lower cost. This study examined RT-LAMP application for rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the RT-PCR assay. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted over six scientific databases in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Original studies published in English conducted on human clinical samples were included. Articles evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of RT-LAMP relative to RT-PCR were considered eligible. Quality assessment of bias and applicability was examined based on QUADAS-2. A total of 351 studies were found based on the keywords and search queries. Fourteen eligible case–control studies fit the mentioned criteria. Quality assessment using QUADAS-2 indicated alow risk of bias for all included studies. All case studies, containing 2,112 samples, had acumulative sensitivity of 95.5% (CI 97.5% = 90.8–97.9%) and cumulative specificity of 99.5% (CI 97.5% = 97.7–99.9%). The RT-LAMP assay could be areliable alternative COVID-19 diagnostic method due to its reduced cost and processing time compared to RT-PCR. RT-LAMP could potentially be utilized during critical high-throughput and high-demand situations.

KEYWORDS:

• RT-LAMP
• RT-PCR
• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• diagnostic test

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Jeremy Rafael Tandaju and Brenda Cristie Edina (Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia) for their methodological and statistical advice.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

In accordance with the Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that I have not received funding from a company that may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed paper. I have disclosed those interests fully to Taylor & Francis, and I have in place an approved plan for managing any potential conflicts arising from that involvement.

DECLARATION OF DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, ADS, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors declare that this paper was not supported by any funding agency or grant.