Clinical Feasibility of a Saliva-Based Antigen Qualitative Test for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.
J Nippon Med Sch
; 89(5): 500-505, 2022 Nov 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2117697
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) are generally used as specimen samples for antigen qualitative tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The principle of the reaction to the antigen protein is the same when saliva is used, and saliva samples were reported to be as accurate as NPS for real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) testing to identify SARS-CoV-2. Unlike NPS collection, self-collected saliva does not expose healthcare workers to the risk of infection. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using saliva samples for a SARS-CoV-2 antigen qualitative test (TA2107SA) under development.METHODS:
Saliva samples were collected from patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection and analyzed. The sensitivity, specificity, and concordance index of the antigen qualitative test were calculated using an RT-qPCR test as reference.RESULTS:
Saliva samples were collected from 105 patients. The mean interval from onset to specimen collection was 5.7 days. The mean cycle threshold (Ct) value of RT-qPCR was 31.3. The sensitivity, specificity, and concordance index were 70.7%, 100%, and 0.85, respectively. In 33 patients with Ct values <30, the results of both the RT-qPCR and antigen tests were positive. The sensitivity of the saliva-based TA2107SA SARS-CoV-2 antigen qualitative test was slightly lower than that of the conventional antigen qualitative test using NPS samples from the same patient.CONCLUSION:
Saliva-based antigen qualitative tests for SARS-CoV-2 are an alternative option during a pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Nippon Med Sch
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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