Comparison of flocked and rayon swabs for collection of respiratory epithelial cells from uninfected volunteers and symptomatic patients

Significantly more epithelial cells were collected by Hocked swabs than by rayon swabs in parallel nasopharyngeal and nasal swabs taken from 16 volunteers. Nasopharyngeal sampling of 61 symptomatic patients also yielded more cells by flocked than rayon swabs, providing better clinical specimens for diagnosis.