1. SARS-CoV-2 saliva testing is a useful tool for Covid-19 diagnosis
- Author
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Leila Brochi, José Eduardo Levi, Annelise Correa Wengerkievicz Lopes, Cristina Mendes de Oliveira, and Luciano Cesar Scarpelli
- Subjects
SARS-CoV-2 detection ,2019-20 coronavirus outbreak ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Saliva ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Health Personnel ,Biology ,World Health Organization ,World health ,Article ,Specimen Handling ,COVID-19 Testing ,stomatognathic system ,Saliva testing ,Virology ,Internal medicine ,Nasopharynx ,medicine ,Humans ,Symptom onset ,Cross Infection ,Diagnostic Tests, Routine ,SARS-CoV-2 ,COVID-19 ,RNA extraction-free RT-PCR ,RNA, Viral ,Early phase - Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the etiologic agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is mainly detected by RT-PCR methods from upper respiratory specimens, as recommended by the World Health Organization. Oro/nasopharyngeal swabbing can be discomfortable to the patients, requires trained healthcare personnel and may generate aerosol, increasing the risk of nosocomial infections. In this study, we describe two SARS-CoV-2 RNA extraction-free single RT-PCR protocols on saliva samples and compared the results with the paired oro/nasopharyngeal swab specimens from 400 patients. The two saliva protocols demonstrated a substantial agreement when compared to the oro/nasopharyngeal swab protocol. Moreover, the positivity rate of saliva protocols increased according to the disease period. The 95 % limit of detection of one of the therefore implemented saliva protocol was determined as 9441 copies/mL. Our results support the conclusion that RNA extraction-free RT-PCR using self-collected saliva specimens is an alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs, especially in the early phase of symptom onset.
- Published
- 2021