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. 2021 Jan;93(1):533-536.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.26258. Epub 2020 Jul 14.

Deep throat saliva as an alternative diagnostic specimen type for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Eddie Chi-Man Leung  1 , Viola Chi-Ying Chow  1 , May Kin-Ping Lee  1 , Raymond Wai-Man Lai  1
Affiliations

Deep throat saliva as an alternative diagnostic specimen type for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

Eddie Chi-Man Leung et al. J Med Virol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) are widely accepted as specimens for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019. However, the collection procedures for NPS specimens causes sneezing and coughing in most patients, which generate droplets or aerosol particles that are hazardous to the healthcare workers collecting these specimens. In this study, 95 patient-matched paired deep throat saliva (DTS) and NPS specimens from 62 patients were analyzed. Samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The rates of detection for DTS (53.7%) and NPS (47.4%) samples were comparable (P = .13). It is important to note that the patients should be clearly instructed or supervised during DTS collection. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-PCR was equivalent in DTS and NPS specimens.

Keywords: COVID-19; RT-PCR; SARS-CoV-2; deep throat saliva.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

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