ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an urgent and unprecedented demand for testing - both for diagnosis and prognosis. Here we explore the potential for using sebum, collected via swabbing of a patients skin, as a novel sampling matrix to fulfil these requirements. In this pilot study, sebum samples were collected from 67 hospitalised patients (30 PCR positive and 37 PCR negative). Lipidomics analysis was carried out using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Lipid levels were found to be depressed in COVID-19 positive participants, indicative of dyslipidemia. Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) modelling showed promising separation of COVID-19 positive and negative participants when comorbidities and medication were controlled for, with sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 81% in stratified subsets. Given that sebum sampling is rapid and non-invasive, this work highlights the potential of this alternative matrix for testing for COVID-19.
