Diagnostic performance of the QIAstat-Dx gastrointestinal panel compared with conventional methods in pediatric gastroenteritis

ABSTRACT Pediatric gastroenteritis remains a significant public health issue, underscoring the need for better laboratory diagnostic methods. Traditional diagnostic techniques, such as stool culture and ova and parasite (O&P) examination, are limited by long turnaround times and low detection rates. This study assessed the diagnostic capabilities of the QIAstat-Dx Gastrointestinal Panel (QGP), a multiplex PCR test, against conventional stool culture and O&P examination in 4,801 clinical stool samples from pediatric patients at Sidra Medicine. The study involved stool specimens collected from patients aged ≤18 years who were being tested for gastroenteritis using one or more of the following methods: QGP, stool culture, and O&P examination. QGP demonstrated a higher pathogen detection rate (42.3%; 2,033/4,801) than stool culture (12.6%; 255/2,018) and O&P examination (6.3%; 63/986). A total of 2,814 pathogens were identified in the 2,033 QGP-positive samples, with EPEC being the most prevalent pathogen found in 631 samples (13.1%). QGP showed high concordance with conventional methods, with >98% negative percent agreement (NPA) for all targets and 100% positive percent agreement (PPA) for all targets, except Salmonella spp. (84.4% PPA). The lower PPA for Salmonella spp. was attributed to isolates detected only by culture after enrichment with Selenite F broth. QGP had a shorter median turnaround time from sample collection to final results (2.8 h) than stool culture (67.6 h) and O&P examination (38.8 h). QGP is a valuable diagnostic tool due to improved detection rate, ability to detect co-infection, and quicker turnaround time, providing a more efficient and comprehensive approach in pediatric gastroenteritis diagnosis. IMPORTANCE This study highlights the benefits of using multiplex PCR panels, such as the QIAstat-Dx Gastrointestinal Panel (QGP), which provides results for 23 pathogens simultaneously within 80 min. This extensive retrospective study evaluated the performance of QGP in 4,801 stool samples collected in a pediatric tertiary care center in Qatar. The QGP showed superior diagnostic performance compared with traditional methods, including enhanced pathogen detection and faster results, helping clinicians optimize the treatment of children with gastroenteritis.