August 5, 2020

Challenges in Use of Saliva for Detection of SARS CoV-2 RNA in Symptomatic Outpatients

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

• Landry et al. found that real-time RT-PCR of pure saliva samples had an overall sensitivity for SARS CoV-2 RNA detection of 85.7 % when compared to simultaneously collected nasopharyngeal swab samples. 

• More than 33% of the saliva samples were initially too thick or stringy to be pipetted efficiently, requiring an additional sample preparation step before testing. The additional step slowed processing significantly and increased the risk of work-station contamination. Saliva samples requiring this additional step may not be appropriate for high volume testing, which requires ready aspiration by robotic instruments.  

Landry et al. (July 31, 2020). Challenges in Use of Saliva for Detection of SARS CoV-2 RNA in Symptomatic Outpatients. Journal of Clinical Virology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104567