Tapestry: A Single-Round Smart Pooling Technique for COVID-19 Testing

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained testing capabilities worldwide. There is an urgent need to find economical and scalable ways to test more people. We present Tapestry, a novel quantitative nonadaptive pooling scheme to test many samples using only a few tests. The underlying molecular diagnostic test is any real-time RT-PCR diagnostic panel approved for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In cases where most samples are negative for the virus, Tapestry accurately identifies the status of each individual sample with a single round of testing in fewer tests than simple two-round pooling. We also present a companion Android application BYOM Smart Testing which guides users through the pipetting steps required to perform the combinatorial pooling. The results of the pooled tests can be fed into the application to recover the status and estimated viral load for each individual sample. NOTE: This protocol has been validated with in vitro experiments that used synthetic RNA and DNA fragments and additionally, its expected behavior has been confirmed using computer simulations. Validation with clinical samples is ongoing. We are looking for clinical collaborators with access to patient samples. Please contact the corresponding author if you wish to validate this protocol on clinical samples.

Resolución espontánea de un seudotumor inflamatorio del pulmón como consecuencia de una biopsia en cuña / Spontaneous Resolution of an Inflammatory Pseudotumour of the Lung Subsequent to Wedge Biopsy

La resolución completa y espontánea de un seudotumor inflamatorio (STI) de los pulmones es excepcional. Un hombre de 44 años de edad fue derivado para la valoración de una «neumonía no resuelta». Refería tos y expectoración mínima durante 5 meses, al igual que dolor torácico, hemoptisis y fiebre durante 2 semanas. La tomografía computarizada (TC) de tórax confirmó la presencia de una masa homogénea de bordes irregulares localizada en el lóbulo medio derecho con áreas de dispersión y broncograma aéreo. La biopsia pulmonar transbronquial era sugestiva de un «granuloma de células plasmáticas». En la toracotomía se puso de relieve una masa dura localizada en el lóbulo medio derecho y adherida al lóbulo inferior, la pared torácica y el mediastino, cuya resección no fue posible. Una biopsia en cuña confirmó un STI. La radiografía de tórax, efectuada 4 semanas después, reveló una resolución sustancial. En la TC de tórax, realizada un año más tarde, se demostró una escara fibrótica. Hasta la fecha solo se han publicado 6 casos de pacientes con una resolución espontánea de PTI de los pulmones, y en 4 se describió al cabo de 3 meses de una intervención diagnóstica cruenta(AU)

Spontaneous, complete resolution of inflammatory pseudotumour (IPT) of lungs is exceptionally rare. A 44-year-old male was referred for evaluation for «non resolving pneumonitis». He had cough and minimal expectoration for 5 months, chest pain, haemoptysis and fever for a fortnight. Computed tomography of thorax (CT-thorax) confirmed the presence of a homogenous mass with irregular borders in right middle lobe with areas of breakdown and air bronchogram. Transbronchial lung biopsy was suggestive of «plasma cell granuloma». Thoracotomy disclosed a hard mass in right middle lobe adherent to lower lobe, chest wall and mediastinum which could not be removed. A wedge biopsy confirmed IPT. Chest radiograph after 4 weeks revealed significant resolution. CT-thorax a year later showed fibrotic scar. Till date, there are only five reports documenting 6 patients with spontaneous resolution of IPT of lungs and in 4 this occurred within 3 months of an invasive diagnostic intervention(AU)

Spontaneous resolution of an inflammatory pseudotumour of the lung subsequent to wedge biopsy.

Spontaneous, complete resolution of inflammatory pseudotumour (IPT) of lungs is exceptionally rare. A 44-year-old male was referred for evaluation for «non resolving pneumonitis¼. He had cough and minimal expectoration for 5 months, chest pain, haemoptysis and fever for a fortnight. Computed tomography of thorax (CT-thorax) confirmed the presence of a homogenous mass with irregular borders in right middle lobe with areas of breakdown and air bronchogram. Transbronchial lung biopsy was suggestive of «plasma cell granuloma¼. Thoracotomy disclosed a hard mass in right middle lobe adherent to lower lobe, chest wall and mediastinum which could not be removed. A wedge biopsy confirmed IPT. Chest radiograph after 4 weeks revealed significant resolution. CT-thorax a year later showed fibrotic scar. Till date, there are only five reports documenting 6 patients with spontaneous resolution of IPT of lungs and in 4 this occurred within 3 months of an invasive diagnostic intervention.