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. 2023 Mar 23:11:1066934.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1066934. eCollection 2023.

A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality

Tina Uršič  1 , Rok Kogoj  1 , Jaka Šikonja  1 , Monika Jevšnik Virant  1 , Miroslav Petrovec  1
Affiliations

A simplified nasopharyngeal swab collection procedure for minimizing patient discomfort while retaining sample quality

Tina Uršič et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

A nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) is the most frequently collected sample type when molecular diagnosis of respiratory viruses, including SARS CoV-2, is required. An optimal collection technique would provide sufficient sample quality for the diagnostic process and would minimize the discomfort felt by the patient. This study compares a simplified NPS collection procedure with only one rotation of the swab to a more standard procedure with five rotations. Swabs were collected from 76 healthy volunteers by the same healthcare professional on 2 consecutive days at a similar hour to minimize variability. The number of Ubiquitin C copy number per sample was measured by real-time quantitative PCR and patient discomfort was assessed by questionnaire. No statistically significant difference (p = 0.15) was observed in the Ubiquitin C copy number per sample between a NPS collected with one rotation (5.2 ± 0.6 log UBC number copies/sample) or five rotations (5.3 ± 0.5 log UBC number copies/sample). However, a statistically significant difference was observed in discomfort between these two procedures, the second being much more uncomfortable. Additional analysis of the results showed a weak correlation between discomfort and the number of human cells recovered (Spearman's rho = 0.202) and greater discomfort in younger people. The results of this study show that a NPS collected with one slow rotation has the same quality as a NPS collected with five rotations. However, the collection time is shorter and, most importantly, less unpleasant for patients.

Keywords: Ubiquitin C; collection procedure; discomfort score; nasopharyngeal swab; sample quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of NPS collection method on level of discomfort and sample quality. (A) Association of NPS collection technique with discomfort score. (B) Association of NPS collection technique with log [UBC copies/sample].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between the level of discomfort and sample quality. Discomfort is weakly correlated with sample quality (samples A, B, and C together).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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