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Comparative Study
. 2009 Mar;156(1-2):102-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2008.10.027. Epub 2008 Dec 19.

Comparison of four nasal sampling methods for the detection of viral pathogens by RT-PCR-A GA(2)LEN project

Irini S Spyridaki  1 , Ioannis Christodoulou, Lieke de Beer, Vegard Hovland, Marcin Kurowski, Agnieszka Olszewska-Ziaber, Kai-Håkon Carlsen, Karin Lødrup-Carlsen, Cornelis M van Drunen, Marek L Kowalski, Richard Molenkamp, Nikolaos G Papadopoulos
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of four nasal sampling methods for the detection of viral pathogens by RT-PCR-A GA(2)LEN project

Irini S Spyridaki et al. J Virol Methods. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and patient discomfort between four techniques for obtaining nasal secretions. Nasal secretions from 58 patients with symptoms of a common cold, from three clinical centers (Amsterdam, Lodz, Oslo), were obtained by four different methods: swab, aspirate, brush, and wash. In each patient all four sampling procedures were performed and patient discomfort was evaluated by a visual discomfort scale (scale 1-5) after each procedure. Single pathogen RT-PCRs for Rhinovirus (RV), Influenza virus and Adenovirus, and multiplex real-time PCR for RV, Enterovirus, Influenza virus, Adenovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Parainfluenza virus, Coronavirus, Metapneumovirus, Bocavirus and Parechovirus were performed in all samples. A specific viral cause of respiratory tract infection was determined in 48 patients (83%). In these, the detection rate for any virus was 88% (wash), 79% (aspirate), 77% (swab) and 74% (brush). The degree of discomfort reported was 2.54 for swabs, 2.63 for washes, 2.68 for aspirates and 3.61 for brushings. Nasal washes yielded the highest rate of viral detection without excessive patient discomfort. In contrast, nasal brushes produced the lowest detection rates and demonstrated the highest level of discomfort.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The rate of detection of Rhinovirus in nasal washes was significantly higher than that in nasal brushes (*p < 0.05), while differences were not significant in the case of other viruses.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Between–center variability in viral detection using different sampling methods. Variability was statistically significant (*p < 0.05) only in the case of swabs (between centers A and B).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Frequencies of discomfort scores for each sampling method. The scores for aspirate and wash are similar, whereas swab gave two peaks and brush is shifted to the higher scores. Brushes caused significant higher discomfort, when compared to the other 3 sampling methods (**p = 0.001).
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