Saliva sample for the massive screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review

Objective. This systematic review aims to describe the value of saliva as a noninvasive sample for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in comparison with the current method for sample collection, the nasopharyngeal swab. Study Design. We conducted a systematic review of the literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. We searched in 5 databases (PubMed, Cochrane, EBSCO, Elsevier, and MEDLINE) and included articles published between December 2019 and July 2020. Results. This review included 22 publications that met inclusion criteria, 17 of which were case series, 2 of which were case reports, and 3 of which were massive screenings. All articles compared saliva with nasopharyngeal swabs. The detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva was similar to that for nasopharyngeal swabs. The sensitivity ranged between 20% and 97%, and specificity ranged between 66% and 100%. Conclusions. This systematic review found that saliva might be an appropriate, fast, painless, simple, and noninvasive sample for SARS-CoV-2 detection, making it ideal for massive screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Automated summary

This systematic review indicates that saliva could be a suitable, fast, painless, simple, and noninvasive sample for detecting SARS-CoV-2, making it ideal for mass screening of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The sensitivity of saliva ranged from 20% to 97%, and the specificity ranged from 66% to 100%, showing its potential as a reliable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs.