tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2021;27(8):2081-2089.
doi: 10.3201/eid2708.210667.
Effects of Patient Characteristics on Diagnostic Performance of Self-Collected Samples for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat, Mitsuki Koh, Adam Hoffman, Paulina A Rebolledo, Marcos C Schechter, Halie K Miller, Sadia Sleweon, Rebecca Rossetti, Vyjayanti Kasinathan, Talya Shragai, Kevin O'Laughlin, Catherine C Espinosa, George M Khalil, AdeSubomi O Adeyemo, Anne Moorman, Brenda L Bauman, Kahaliah Joseph, Michelle O'Hegarty, Nazia Kamal, Hany Atallah, Brooks L Moore, Caitlin D Bohannon, Bettina Bankamp, Claire Hartloge, Michael D Bowen, Ashley Paulick, Amy S Gargis, Christopher Elkins, Rebekah J Stewart, Juliana da Silva, Caitlin Biedron, Jacqueline E Tate, Yun F Wang, Hannah L Kirking, CDC COVID-19; Response Team1
Abstract
We evaluated the performance of self-collected anterior nasal swab (ANS) and saliva samples compared with healthcare worker-collected nasopharyngeal swab specimens used to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We used the same PCR diagnostic panel to test all self-collected and healthcare worker-collected samples from participants at a public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Among 1,076 participants, 51.9% were men, 57.1% were >50 years of age, 81.2% were Black (non-Hispanic), and 74.9% reported >1 chronic medical condition. In total, 8.0% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Compared with nasopharyngeal swab samples, ANS samples had a sensitivity of 59% and saliva samples a sensitivity of 68%. Among participants tested 3-7 days after symptom onset, ANS samples had a sensitivity of 80% and saliva samples a sensitivity of 85%. Sensitivity varied by specimen type and patient characteristics. These findings can help physicians interpret PCR results for SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; Georgia; SARS-CoV-2; United States; anterior nasal; coronavirus disease; coronaviruses; respiratory infections; saliva; self-collected; sensitivity; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.
. 2021;27(8):2081-2089.
doi: 10.3201/eid2708.210667.
Effects of Patient Characteristics on Diagnostic Performance of Self-Collected Samples for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat, Mitsuki Koh, Adam Hoffman, Paulina A Rebolledo, Marcos C Schechter, Halie K Miller, Sadia Sleweon, Rebecca Rossetti, Vyjayanti Kasinathan, Talya Shragai, Kevin O'Laughlin, Catherine C Espinosa, George M Khalil, AdeSubomi O Adeyemo, Anne Moorman, Brenda L Bauman, Kahaliah Joseph, Michelle O'Hegarty, Nazia Kamal, Hany Atallah, Brooks L Moore, Caitlin D Bohannon, Bettina Bankamp, Claire Hartloge, Michael D Bowen, Ashley Paulick, Amy S Gargis, Christopher Elkins, Rebekah J Stewart, Juliana da Silva, Caitlin Biedron, Jacqueline E Tate, Yun F Wang, Hannah L Kirking, CDC COVID-19; Response Team1
- PMID: 34286681
- DOI: 10.3201/eid2708.210667
Abstract
We evaluated the performance of self-collected anterior nasal swab (ANS) and saliva samples compared with healthcare worker-collected nasopharyngeal swab specimens used to test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We used the same PCR diagnostic panel to test all self-collected and healthcare worker-collected samples from participants at a public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Among 1,076 participants, 51.9% were men, 57.1% were >50 years of age, 81.2% were Black (non-Hispanic), and 74.9% reported >1 chronic medical condition. In total, 8.0% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Compared with nasopharyngeal swab samples, ANS samples had a sensitivity of 59% and saliva samples a sensitivity of 68%. Among participants tested 3-7 days after symptom onset, ANS samples had a sensitivity of 80% and saliva samples a sensitivity of 85%. Sensitivity varied by specimen type and patient characteristics. These findings can help physicians interpret PCR results for SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; Georgia; SARS-CoV-2; United States; anterior nasal; coronavirus disease; coronaviruses; respiratory infections; saliva; self-collected; sensitivity; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.