Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

January 28, 2021

Performance of Saliva, Oropharyngeal Swabs, and Nasal Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Detection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining alternative sample types for testing (n=46) found that nasal swab (NS), saliva samples, and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs consistently captured lower percent positives than nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, though performance of OP and NS combined was similar to NP. The percent agreement between most alternative sample types and NP were low, with OP/NS having the highest agreement. 

Lee et al. (Jan 27, 2021). Performance of Saliva, Oropharyngeal Swabs, and Nasal Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Detection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.02881-20