TY - JOUR T1 - Survey of Clinical Laboratory Practices for 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in the Republic of Korea. AU - Lee,Mi-Kyung, AU - Kim,Sinyoung, AU - Kim,Mi-Na, AU - Kweon,Oh Joo, AU - Lim,Yong Kwan, AU - Ki,Chang-Seok, AU - Kim,Jae-Seok, AU - Seong,Moon-Woo, AU - Sung,Heungsup, AU - Yong,Dongeun, AU - Lee,Hyukmin, AU - Choi,Jong-Rak, AU - Kim,Jeong-Ho, AU - ,, PY - 2015/08/11/received PY - 2015/09/03/revised PY - 2015/11/10/accepted PY - 2015/12/29/entrez PY - 2015/12/29/pubmed PY - 2017/1/10/medline KW - Clinical laboratory KW - Korea KW - Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) KW - Outbreak KW - Preparedness KW - Survey SP - 154 EP - 61 JF - Annals of laboratory medicine JO - Ann Lab Med VL - 36 IS - 2 N2 - BACKGROUND: It is crucial to understand the current status of clinical laboratory practices for the largest outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections in the Republic of Korea to be well prepared for future emerging infectious diseases. METHODS: We conducted a survey of 49 clinical laboratories in medical institutions and referral medical laboratories. A short questionnaire to survey clinical laboratory practices relating to MERS-CoV diagnostic testing was sent by email to the directors and clinical pathologists in charge of the clinical laboratories performing MERS-CoV testing. The survey focused on testing volume, reporting of results, resources, and laboratory safety. RESULTS: A total of 40 clinical laboratories responded to the survey. A total of 27,009 MERS-CoV real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) tests were performed. Most of the specimens were sputum (73.5%). The median turnaround time (TAT) was 5.29 hr (first and third quartile, 4.11 and 7.48 hr) in 26 medical institutions. The median TAT of more than a half of the laboratories (57.7%) was less than 6 hr. Many laboratories were able to perform tests throughout the whole week. Laboratory biosafety preparedness included class II biosafety cabinets (100%); separated pre-PCR, PCR, and post-PCR rooms (88.6%); negative pressure pretreatment rooms (48.6%); and negative pressure sputum collection rooms (20.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical laboratories were able to quickly expand their diagnostic capacity in response to the 2015 MERS-CoV outbreak. Our results show that clinical laboratories play an important role in the maintenance and enhancement of laboratory response in preparation for future emerging infections. SN - 2234-3814 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26709263/Survey_of_Clinical_Laboratory_Practices_for_2015_Middle_East_Respiratory_Syndrome_Coronavirus_Outbreak_in_the_Republic_of_Korea_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -