Evaluation of the NanoCHIP® Gastrointestinal Panel (GIP) Test for Simultaneous Detection of Parasitic and Bacterial Enteric Pathogens in Fecal Specimens

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 7; p. e0159440
• Main Authors: Ken Dror, Shifra, Pavlotzky, Elsa, Barak, Mira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 22.07.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bacteria - genetics; Biology and Life Sciences; Campylobacter; Cryptosporidium; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developing countries; Dientamoeba fragilis; DNA; DNA microarrays; Entamoeba histolytica; Feasibility studies; Feces - microbiology; Feces - parasitology; Gastroenteritis; Giardia; Global health; Health services; Humans; Identification methods; Infections; Laboratories; LDCs; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbiology; Microscopy; Morbidity; Multiplexing; Occupational health; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis - methods; Parasites; Parasites - genetics; Parasitic diseases; Pathogens; Prospective Studies; Purification; Reproducibility of Results; Retrospective Studies; Ribosomal DNA; Salmonella; Shigella; Workflow; Galilee; Israel
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159440

Infectious gastroenteritis is a global health problem associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is crucial to allow appropriate and timely treatment. Current laboratory stool testing has a long turnaround time (TAT) and demands highly qualified personnel and multiple techniques. The need for high throughput and the number of possible enteric pathogens compels the implementation of a molecular approach which uses multiplex technology, without compromising performance requirements. In this work we evaluated the feasibility of the NanoCHIP® Gastrointestinal Panel (GIP) (Savyon Diagnostics, Ashdod, IL), a molecular microarray-based screening test, to be used in the routine workflow of our laboratory, a big outpatient microbiology laboratory. The NanoCHIP® GIP test provides simultaneous detection of nine major enteric bacteria and parasites: Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Giardia sp., Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Dientamoeba fragilis, and Blastocystis spp. The required high-throughput was obtained by the NanoCHIP® detection system together with the MagNA Pure 96 DNA purification system (Roche Diagnostics Ltd., Switzerland). This combined system has demonstrated a higher sensitivity and detection yield compared to the conventional methods in both, retrospective and prospective samples. The identification of multiple parasites and bacteria in a single test also enabled increased efficiency of detecting mixed infections, as well as reduced hands-on time and work load. In conclusion, the combination of these two automated systems is a proper response to the laboratory needs in terms of improving laboratory workflow, turn-around-time, minimizing human errors and can be efficiently integrated in the routine work of the laboratory.