A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104442

Comparative Study

. 2020 Jul:128:104442.

doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104442. Epub 2020 May 16.

A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Jason J LeBlanc¹, Charles Heinstein², Jimmy MacDonald², Janice Pettipas³, Todd F Hatchette¹, Glenn Patriquin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
³ Nova Scotia Provincial Public Health Laboratory Network (PPHLN), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁴ Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: glenn.patriquin@nshealth.ca.

PMID: 32540034
PMCID: PMC7228872
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104442

Comparative Study

A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Jason J LeBlanc et al. J Clin Virol. 2020 Jul.

. 2020 Jul:128:104442.

doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104442. Epub 2020 May 16.

Authors

Jason J LeBlanc¹, Charles Heinstein², Jimmy MacDonald², Janice Pettipas³, Todd F Hatchette¹, Glenn Patriquin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
³ Nova Scotia Provincial Public Health Laboratory Network (PPHLN), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁴ Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: glenn.patriquin@nshealth.ca.

PMID: 32540034
PMCID: PMC7228872
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104442

Abstract

Given the global shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs typically used for respiratory virus detection, alternative collection methods were evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study showed that a combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to NP swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, with sensitivities of 91.7% and 94.4%, respectively.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nares; Oropharyngeal; PCR; SARS-CoV-2; SWAB.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts to declare.

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[1] Zhu N., Zhang D., Wang W., Li X., Yang B., Song J., Zhao X., Huang B., Shi W., Lu R., Niu P., Zhan F., Ma X., Wang D., Xu W., Wu G., Gao G.F., Tan W., China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382(February 20 (8)):727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Zhu N., Zhang D., Wang W., Li X., Yang B., Song J., Zhao X., Huang B., Shi W., Lu R., Niu P., Zhan F., Ma X., Wang D., Xu W., Wu G., Gao G.F., Tan W., China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382(February 20 (8)):727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Zhou P., Yang X.-L., Wang X.-G., Hu B., Zhang L., Zhang W., Si H.-R., Zhu Y., Li B., Huang C.-L., Chen H.-D., Chen J., Luo Y., Guo H., Jiang R.-D., Liu M.-Q., Chen Y., Shen X.-R., Wang X., Zheng X.-S., Zhao K., Chen Q.-J., Deng F., Liu L.-L., Yan B., Zhan F.-X., Wang Y.-Y., Xiao G.-F., Shi Z.-L. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020;579(7798):270–273. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Zhou P., Yang X.-L., Wang X.-G., Hu B., Zhang L., Zhang W., Si H.-R., Zhu Y., Li B., Huang C.-L., Chen H.-D., Chen J., Luo Y., Guo H., Jiang R.-D., Liu M.-Q., Chen Y., Shen X.-R., Wang X., Zheng X.-S., Zhao K., Chen Q.-J., Deng F., Liu L.-L., Yan B., Zhan F.-X., Wang Y.-Y., Xiao G.-F., Shi Z.-L. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020;579(7798):270–273. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Gorbalenya A.E., Baker S.C., Baric R.S., de Groot R.J., Drosten C., Gulyaeva A.A., Haagmans B.L., Lauber C., Leontovich A.M., Neuman B.W., Penzar D., Perlman S., Poon L.L.M., Samborskiy D.V., Sidorov I.A., Sola I., Ziebuhr J. The species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat. Microbiol. 2020;(March 2) doi: 10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z. [Online ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Gorbalenya A.E., Baker S.C., Baric R.S., de Groot R.J., Drosten C., Gulyaeva A.A., Haagmans B.L., Lauber C., Leontovich A.M., Neuman B.W., Penzar D., Perlman S., Poon L.L.M., Samborskiy D.V., Sidorov I.A., Sola I., Ziebuhr J. The species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat. Microbiol. 2020;(March 2) doi: 10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z. [Online ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Tang Y.W., Schmitz J.E., Persing D.H., Stratton C.W. The laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 infection: current issues and challenges. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2020;(April 3):JCM.00512–00520. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00512-20. [Epub ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Tang Y.W., Schmitz J.E., Persing D.H., Stratton C.W. The laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 infection: current issues and challenges. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2020;(April 3):JCM.00512–00520. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00512-20. [Epub ahead of print] - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Yang Y., Yang M., Shen C., Wang F., Yuan J., Li J., Zhang M., Wang Z., Xing L., Wei J., Peng L., Wong G., Zheng H., Liao M., Feng K., Li J., Yang Q., Zhao J., Zhang Z., Liu L., Liu Y. Evaluating the accuracy of different respiratory specimens in the laboratory diagnosis and monitoring the viral shedding of 2019-nCoV infections. MedRxiv. 2020;2020 02.11.20021493.

[10] Yang Y., Yang M., Shen C., Wang F., Yuan J., Li J., Zhang M., Wang Z., Xing L., Wei J., Peng L., Wong G., Zheng H., Liao M., Feng K., Li J., Yang Q., Zhao J., Zhang Z., Liu L., Liu Y. Evaluating the accuracy of different respiratory specimens in the laboratory diagnosis and monitoring the viral shedding of 2019-nCoV infections. MedRxiv. 2020;2020 02.11.20021493.

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A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Affiliations

A combined oropharyngeal/nares swab is a suitable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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