Evaluation of a saliva molecular point of care for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in ambulatory care

Letter Respiratory System

Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab

Andreas K. Lindner et al.

EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL (2021)

Article Infectious Diseases

Impact of mass testing during an epidemic rebound of SARS-CoV-2: a modelling study using the example of France

Paolo Bosetti et al.

Summary: Mass testing is effective in controlling the epidemic growth when it is limited, but frequent testing is necessary to achieve control.

EUROSURVEILLANCE (2021)

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Article Microbiology

Performance of Saliva Specimens for the Molecular Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the Community Setting: Does Sample Collection Method Matter?

Marta Fernandez-Gonzalez et al.

Summary: Data on saliva specimens for diagnosing COVID-19 in ambulatory patients are limited and varied. This study found that supervised saliva collection performed comparably to nasopharyngeal swabs, showing that saliva is an acceptable specimen for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in the community setting.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY (2021)

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Review Medicine, General & Internal

Comparison of Saliva and Nasopharyngeal Swab Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Guillaume Butler-Laporte et al.

Summary: This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of saliva NAAT for COVID-19 and found that its accuracy is similar to that of nasopharyngeal swab NAAT, especially in ambulatory settings. This suggests the potential for saliva NAAT as an alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs and supports further research in this area.

JAMA INTERNAL MEDICINE (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

Clinical and Economic Effects of Widespread Rapid Testing to Decrease SARS-CoV-2 Transmission

A. David Paltiel et al.

Summary: The study suggests that high-frequency home testing for SARS-CoV-2 with an inexpensive, imperfect test can reduce infections, deaths, and hospitalizations at justifiable cost.

ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE (2021)

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Article Medicine, General & Internal

Quantifying the potential value of antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19: a modelling analysis

Saskia Ricks et al.

Summary: Antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) have been found to offer greater public health value than nucleic acid tests (NATs) in COVID-19 testing, with potential for more impactful outcomes and lower cost per death and infectious person-days averted. In hospital settings, an Ag-RDT-led strategy may avert more deaths when clinical judgement sensitivity is below 90% and when NAT results are not available in time for most patients. In community settings, Ag-RDTs are robustly supported as they can prevent more transmission at a lower cost compared to relying solely on NAT.

BMC MEDICINE (2021)

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Review Microbiology

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

Rose A. Lee et al.

Summary: Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs are considered the best sample for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2, but saliva, oropharyngeal (OP), nasal (NS) swabs, and combinations of OP/NS are promising alternatives. While some alternative samples had lower detection rates, a combination of OP/NS showed comparable performance to NP swabs. The absence of RNA extraction (saliva) and use of a more sensitive nucleic acid amplification test (NS) significantly reduced the positive yield of alternative samples.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY (2021)

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Article Virology

Development of a point-of-care test to detect SARS-CoV-2 from saliva which combines a simple RNA extraction method with colorimetric reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification detection

Wataru Yamazaki et al.

Summary: The study has successfully developed a simple and rapid method for extracting RNA from saliva and conducting COVID-19 testing, which can be used in field settings to potentially reduce the risk of infection.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL VIROLOGY (2021)

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Article Infectious Diseases

SARS-CoV-2 detection by fluorescence loop-mediated isothermal amplification with and without RNA extraction

Keisuke Taki et al.

Summary: Rapid and simple point-of-care detection of SARS-CoV-2 is crucial to control the pandemic. RT-LAMP can detect the virus faster than RT-PCR, with saliva being a suitable non-invasive specimen for mass screening. However, the need for RNA extraction for optimal detection by RT-fLAMP suggests its critical role in virus detection.

JOURNAL OF INFECTION AND CHEMOTHERAPY (2021)

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Article Infectious Diseases

Scaling up COVID-19 rapid antigen tests: promises and challenges

Rosanna W. Peeling et al.

Summary: WHO recommends antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) with at least 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity for patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Ag-RDTs may show high false negative rates after the acute phase, suggesting the need for a combination of molecular and serological tests. In low prevalence settings and situations where infection needs to be ruled out, Ag-RDTs with high negative predictive values can be used confidently, but high false positive rates in low prevalence areas require further confirmation.

LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES (2021)

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Article Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

Comparative cost-effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies in the USA: a modelling study

Zhanwei Du et al.

Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the economic trade-offs of expanding and accelerating testing for SARS-CoV-2 across the USA in different transmission scenarios. The findings suggest that weekly testing combined with a 2-week isolation period is the most cost-effective strategy under rapid transmission scenarios, while monthly testing with a 1-week isolation period is most cost-effective under low transmission scenarios.

LANCET PUBLIC HEALTH (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Diagnostic performance and characteristics of anterior nasal collection for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen test: a prospective study

Yuto Takeuchi et al.

Summary: The clinical utility of antigen test using anterior nasal samples for diagnosing COVID-19 has been evaluated in a study with 862 participants, showing moderate sensitivity and 100% specificity. Compared to nasopharyngeal collection, anterior nasal collection induced less pain and coughs or sneezes, making it a more comfortable option for symptomatic patients, especially in early stages of the disease.

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2021)

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Letter Infectious Diseases