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BackgroundEffective management of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires large-scale testing. Collection of nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) by healthcare workers (HCW) is currently used to diagnose SARS-CoV-2, which increases the risk of transmission to HCWs. Self-administered saliva and buccal swabs are convenient, painless and safe alternative sample collection methods. MethodsA cross-sectional single centre study was conducted on 42 participants who were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via NPS within the past 7 days. A self-collected saliva and buccal swab and a HCW-collected NPS were obtained. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed and cycle threshold (CT) values were obtained. Positive percent agreement (PPA), negative percent agreement (NPA) and overall agreement (OA) were calculated for saliva and buccal swabs, as compared with NPS. ResultsAmong the 42 participants, 73.8% (31/42) tested positive via any one of the 3 tests. With reference to NPS, the saliva test had PPA 66.7%, NPA 91.7% and OA 69.0%. The buccal swab had PPA 56.7%, NPA 100% and OA 73.8%. Presence of symptoms improved diagnostic accuracy. There was no statistically significant association between CT values and duration of symptom onset within the first 12 days of symptoms for all three modalities. ConclusionSelf-collected saliva tests and buccal swabs have only moderate agreement with HCW-collected NPS swabs. Primary screening for SARS-CoV-2 may be performed with a saliva test or buccal swab, with a negative test warranting a confirmatory NPS to avoid false negatives. This combined strategy minimizes discomfort and reduces the risk of spread to the community and HCWs.
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INTRODUCTION@#This study examined maternal, delivery and infant factors associated with cord thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations in an Asian population.@*METHODS@#The Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study is a mother-offspring birth cohort from 2 major hospitals in Singapore. Cord serum TSH was measured using the Abbott ARCHITECT TSH Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay and the ADVIA Centaur TSH-3 Immunoassay. After excluding infants with a maternal history of thyroid disease, screening cord TSH results from 604 infants were available for multivariable regression analysis in relation to the factors of interest.@*RESULTS@#Babies born by vaginal delivery had significantly higher cord serum TSH concentrations than babies born by caesarean section. Cord serum TSH concentrations differed significantly by measurement method. There was no association of cord TSH concentrations with ethnicity, sex, birth weight, gestational age, maternal body mass index, gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus status and other maternal, delivery and infant factors studied.@*CONCLUSION@#Interpretation of cord serum TSH results may need to take into account mode of delivery and measurement method.
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This study aimed to develop and examine the validity and reliability of a pregnancy symptoms questionnaire. A total of 214 pregnant women aged 19 to 40 years old were purposive randomly recruited from December 2009 to January 2010 in Antenatal Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Pregnant mothers at second and third trimesters were interviewed to complete the Pregnancy Symptoms Questionnaire (PSQ). The PSQ was developed by experts in nutrition, obstetrics and statistics. The PSQ consists of 38 items on frequency and severity of pregnancy symptoms. Factor analysis was done using Promax rotation method to check for construct validity. A total of 16 items which had poor correlation (<0.3) and less important content were removed during the final revise. The 22 remaining items were found to be loaded on the three components (general, constitutional and somatic pain). The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93 and for each three components ranges from 0.70–0.87. The results suggest that the final PSQ consisting of 22 items is valid and reliable for measuring the frequency and severity of the symptoms experienced during pregnancy. It can be used in nutritional studies related to pregnancy and its outcome.
