EN | RU
EN | RU

Help Support

Back

Study finds effective diagnostic tools for COVID-19, can be used as alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs

Study finds effective diagnostic tools for COVID-19, can be used as alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs Study finds effective diagnostic tools for COVID-19, can be used as alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs
Study finds effective diagnostic tools for COVID-19, can be used as alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs Study finds effective diagnostic tools for COVID-19, can be used as alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs

What's new?

Sampling via gargling and oropharyngeal swabs can be helpful in diagnosing COVID-19.

The use of gargling (also called ‘throat washings’) and oropharyngeal swabs with marginally lower dilutions can be considered for the diagnosis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, a study in Viruses journal revealed. Real-time reverse-transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT PCR) is utilized to detect SARS-CoV-2 from the respiratory tract samples. This study by Florian Hitzenbichler et al. compared three sampling methods-gargling, nasopharyngeal swabs, and oropharyngeal swabs for the same.

Overall, 102 samples from 34 individuals in the age group 22–83 years with SARS-CoV-2 infection were evaluated by RT-qPCR with definite quantification. The median concentration and diagnostic sensitivities for nasopharyngeal swabs, oropharyngeal swabs, and throat washings are illustrated in the table below:


Noteworthy concentration differences were found between nasopharyngeal swabs and gargling (P = 0.019). Saliva was obtainable from 21 individuals (median 3.4×103 copies per mL).

The presence of just moderately lesser viral loads in oropharyngeal swabs and gargling denoted that they can be regarded as a substitute to nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19. Also, gargling could permit self-sampling in patients, thus lowering the infection risk for healthcare staff, Florian Hitzenbichler mentioned.

Source:

Viruses

Article:

Comparison of Throat Washings, Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Oropharyngeal Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Authors:

Florian Hitzenbichler et al.

Comments (0)

You want to delete this comment? Please mention comment Invalid Text Content Text Content cannot me more than 1000 Something Went Wrong Cancel Confirm Confirm Delete Hide Replies View Replies View Replies en ru ua
Try: