Challenges in use of saliva for detection of SARS CoV-2 RNA in symptomatic outpatients.
J Clin Virol
; 130: 104567, 2020 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-688908
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
A major expansion in SARS CoV-2 testing is urgently needed. Saliva is an attractive option as an alternative for nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), since saliva can be self-collected, is non-invasive, and sample quality is not dependent on the expertise of the collector.OBJECTIVE:
To compare SARS CoV-2 positivity on paired NPS and saliva samples. STUDYDESIGN:
NPS and paired saliva samples were prospectively collected from symptomatic outpatients suspected of having COVID-19 and were tested by real-time RT-PCR.RESULTS:
In total, 35/124 (26.6 %) samples were RT-PCR positive, with 33/35 positive by NPS (sensitivityâ¯=â¯94.3 % (95 % CI 81.4%-99.0%)) and 30/35 by pure saliva (sensitivityâ¯=â¯85.7 % (95 % CI 70.6%-93.7%)), for an overall agreement of 117/124 (94.4 %). The median cycle threshold value was significantly lower for NPS than for saliva (pâ¯=â¯0.0331). A third or more of pure saliva samples from symptomatic patients were thick, stringy, and difficult to pipet.CONCLUSIONS:
Real-time RT-PCR of pure saliva had an overall sensitivity for SARS CoV-2 RNA detection of 85.7 % when compared to simultaneously collected NPS. Our study highlighted the need to optimize collection and processing before saliva can be used for high volume testing.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Saliva
/
RNA, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Clin Virol
Journal subject:
Virology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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