Viruses
. 2021 Apr 10;13(4):653.
doi: 10.3390/v13040653.
Comparison of Throat Washings, Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Oropharyngeal Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2
Florian Hitzenbichler 1 , Stilla Bauernfeind 1 , Bernd Salzberger 1 , Barbara Schmidt 2 3 , J?rgen J Wenzel 3
Affiliations
- PMID: 33920072
- DOI: 10.3390/v13040653
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is detected by reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) from respiratory specimens. This study compares throat washings (TW), nasopharyngeal swabs (NS) and oropharyngeal swabs (OS). A total of 102 samples from 34 adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were analysed by RT-qPCR with absolute quantification. The median concentrations and diagnostic sensitivities were 5.8?104 copies/mL, 85% (NS), 1.4?104, 79% (OS) and 4.3?103, 85% (TW). Concentration differences were significant between NS and TW (P = 0.019). Saliva (SA) was available from 21 patients (median 3.4?103). OS and TW can be considered for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, although with slightly lower concentrations.
Keywords: COVID-19; PCR; RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; diagnostic sensitivity; nasopharyngeal swab; nucleic acid test; oropharyngeal swab; saliva; throat washing.