Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

September 4, 2020

A Direct Comparison of Enhanced Saliva to Nasopharyngeal Swab for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Symptomatic Patients

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  • There was very high agreement in SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing results between enhanced saliva specimens (i.e. strong sniff, elicited cough, and a collection of saliva/secretions) and nasopharyngeal swabs collected from 224 patients suspected of having COVID-19. The positive agreement was 100% and the negative agreement was 99.4%.
  • Saliva samples had a lower mean viral load compared with nasopharyngeal swabs.

Procop et al. (Sept 3, 2020). A Direct Comparison of Enhanced Saliva to Nasopharyngeal Swab for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Symptomatic Patients. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01946-20